Tough Love
by Matteoarts
Summary: Life for Nick and Judy hasn't always been easy, especially not while under the gaze of Zootopia's occasionally judgmental eyes. They now think over of all the troubles they had to endure throughout the entirety of their particularly unique relationship. / WildeHopps
1. First Impressions

_A/N: Okay, so after a LONG time of debating with myself of wether or not to add to this growing fandom… here I am. I've been content so far to simply observe and read, but now I have an urge to write and contribute to this fascinating phenomenon. Enjoy!_

* * *

"How did you and dad get together?" asked the child, tucked into bed with blankets up to his neck. He looked into his mother's eyes, hoping that she'd tell the truth- the _whole_ truth.

The bunny, to whom the question was directed to, pondered the question for a moment. Most times when he'd asked her this, as most kids do at some point in their lives, she'd given him a vague response. She was still unsure of whether or not to share certain details when and if she ever did give a specific answer. Was he old enough yet? She did not open her mouth again until she believed that she'd thought of a suitable reply.

"What made you think of that? You know that your dad and I love each other very much, and as most mammals do, we decided to tie the knot! It's a pretty straightforward-"

The young rabbit shook his head. "That's not what I meant!"

The bunny felt her ears lower slightly, realizing where this was going. "Then what did you mean?"

"Well…" The rabbit's gaze shifted downwards. "Lucy told me that you and dad didn't like each other at first, and then you did, but other mammals didn't like you." He looked up once more. "She said it was because you two are different… uh…" The poor rabbit fumbled over his words as he tried to remember the one his sister had told him about.

" _Species_ , Pete, the word is species." The female arctic fox leaning against the doorframe to Peter's bedroom had a smirk on her face, observing how the scenario would play out. The bunny quickly spun around and stared her daughter down with an authoritative glare.

"Lucy! You have school tomorrow! Get your tail to bed before I drag it there!" Had the threat been coming from their father, Lucy would likely have let it bounce off of her. But coming from her mother? The grin faded from the teenager's face, and she slunk off to her room, eager to avoid her mother's wrath.

The bunny sighed, and turned back toward her son. "Pay Lucy no attention, Peter. She just knows a bit more than you do about this."

Peter sat up, and pouted slightly, "But that's not fair! Both she and Grayson know, how come I can't?"

The bunny felt her hand each up and grab the bridge of her nose. It had been easier with Lucy and Grayson, they had been older than Peter and had pretty much figured it out on their own. But Pete was young, and needed a bit more… exposition.

Her face lit up. "Alright, I'll tell you the whole story. But, we're gonna have to start from the beginning, alright?"

The youthful rabbit nodded vigorously, putting a smile on his mother's face.

"Alright, well it's true that your father and I didn't like each other at first. The first time we met was more than a little disappointing…"

* * *

Judy walked slowly on the sidewalk, her feet weighed down by the mass of the dried concrete that surrounded them. She kept running that scenario through her mind, over and over again, her anger and depression only increasing with each consecutive playback.

" _You can only be what you are." Wilde- that was his name- stood up from his hunched over position, and gestured first to himself, then her. "Sly fox… dumb bunny."_

" _I am NOT, a dumb bunny." She said slowly, emphasizing her disagreement._

" _Right," he retorted sarcastically. "And that's not wet cement." She quickly looked down to see that she had unwittingly stood in the midst of a side-walk repair job being hosted by beavers._

" _You'll never be a real cop," muttered the con-artist, as he walked around the predicament she was now knee-deep in. "You're a cute meter-maid though. Maybe a supervisor one day!" The fox turned and gave her a mock salute before wandering off to wherever he spent his free time. "Hang in there!" And no sooner had he said that, he disappeared._

She had felt herself tensing up with rage, but just as quickly as it came, it had dissolved, replaced with sorrow more than anything, and a lot of self-doubt which had led to this depressing walk home. What if he was right? What if that stupid fox- rude as he may have been- was right about her?

She'd seen how Chief Bogo at the precinct had treated her. Assigning her meter-maid for her first duty, all while the other officers spent their hours with more productive tasks, like finding those missing mammals. And why? All because she was a bunny, the _first_ bunny. They didn't know her capabilities yet, but they were already judging her.

The problem was, she knew that she could be a great officer. But if she was never given the chance, and the evidence pointed toward that possibility so far, then how was she ever going to prove herself to them? She'd be ridiculed for all of her career, no one ever being the wiser to just how much potential she had.

She entered her apartment building, feet scraping loudly against the wood floor. Marching up the stairs was even worse, as her legs were clunky and heavy, stiff and unwieldy to maneuver when ascending a flight of stairs. Upon reaching the top, she began to walk towards her room.

"Will whoever is making that awful scraping sound, please STOP!" yelled one of her neighbors. She realized that it was one of the oryx brothers in the room next to her. "Sorry guys!" she called, her voice devoid of emotion. She caught a bit of grumbling, but that was the extent of it. Sighing, she reached into her pockets and pulled out her key and she stood upon her welcoming mat. With a heavy heart, and a mind currently lacking in self-esteem, she trudged into her room.

She looked down at her outfit, the bright orange of the meter-maid vest reminding her all-too-vividly of the day's events. She simply sat in her desk chair for a few minutes, willing herself to remain strong. She'd get something to eat in a while, but right now she just needed to comfort herself.

 _Tomorrow is another day_ , she iterated in her mind, trying to convince herself. Her parents would probably call soon, and she was not about to let them see how badly the first day had gone. So for the next few minutes, the bunny simply sat there; trying as hard not to cry just as much as she wanted to give in and let the tears flow.

 _Tomorrow is another day._

* * *

Peter's mouth hung slightly agape. "What? Dad was a con-mammal?"

His mother nodded. "When I first met him, yes."

The rabbit had a confused look on his face. "But- but how did he help you with the big case then? Why would anyone trust him? And why was he a big jerk?"

She quickly tried to hush her son. "Your father was not a jerk! He just-"

"Oh, I was a jerk alright, Carrots." Peter's dad had now taken the position that Lucy had stood in earlier, a similar smirk upon his face. Slowly, he walked over to them.

"But, your mother is a very… persuasive individual." He chuckled slightly as the bunny elbowed him. "Long story short, your mother and I became great friends over the course of the big case. And she was the once who convinced me to better myself, and join her on the force. If it wasn't for her, neither you or I would be around here, you little stinker," he laughed, ruffling his son's fur between his long ears. Peter giggled slightly.

"So what happened then? When you two solved the case?" His dad opened his mouth to reply, but his mom cut him off. "We'll save that for tomorrow. As I told your sister earlier, you have school tomorrow. It's time to get some sleep. Don't worry," she said reassuringly as Peter scrunched up his face to protest, "I promise you that you'll get more of the story tomorrow. For now though, sleep well. Good night." With that, she leaned over and kissed the top of his head, then walked out of his room with his father trailing her closely behind.

They closed the door behind them as they exited, and Peter tried to make himself fall asleep faster, excited to hear more of the tale tomorrow.

* * *

A/N: Good enough for a first chapter? I spent roughly an hour just trying to figure out how to start the damn thing, haha! Hopefully you guys are intrigued, and just as interested in reading the rest of this story as I am in writing it! Working on chapter 2 now, so follow, favorite, and don't forget to review!


	2. The Aftermath

Judy planted her face on the desk in front of her, her ears flopping around in the sudden movement. Today had been an unusually busy day, and as a result, she still had another hour of paperwork to fill out. To top everything off, Peter and Lucy were going to get out of school in just a few minutes.

"Tough day, Carrots?" She looked around to see Nick hovering over her shoulder, staring at the work load she had. She groaned.

"You could say that. How am I supposed to pick up the kids?" To her surprise, the fox smiled.

"Don't worry, I'm taking care of it." When she raised her eyebrow quizzically, he explained, "Swapped patrol duty with Fangmeyer and cleared it with Bogo." She gave a sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank you so much," she said smiling. She grabbed the collar of his uniform and pulled him down to her level so she could kiss him goodbye. After their parting smooch, Nick gave her a salute and made his way toward the ZPD exit where his car would be waiting.

…

The school bell rang, signaling the end to yet another day of boring education. Normally, Peter wasn't nearly this excited. But he was going to make his mother keep her word about the story of her and his dad. He dashed to the front steps of the school alongside many other students, looking for the family car. He finally spotted it, and dashed over.

To his disappointment, however, his mom wasn't the one picking him up. "Hey kiddo!" Nick stood against the car, waiting for his kid to arrive. "How was your day?"

Peter tried to shrug off the letdown. "Uh, it was good. Where's mom?" Nick gave him a sympathetic grimace. "She's working hard on some reports, unfortunately. She couldn't pick you up today." Nodding his head, Peter pulled open the passenger door and hopped in. His dad closed the door after him, and walked around to the driver's side.

Now, they'd driven over to Lucy's school. She wasn't in junior-high like him- and Peter often felt jealous of how mature she acted, especially considering that she had the advantage of high-school knowledge over him. They waited for her school day to end.

"Something on your mind, Pete?" inquired Nick. Peter shrugged again. "Not really. I was just hoping to hear more of the story about you and mom."

Nick laughed. "Is that it? You do realize that I was there too, right?" Peter felt the tips of his ears grow hot, now understanding that he could have just asked his dad as well.

The red fox was now checking his watch. "We still have roughly half an hour before your sister gets out. I'd say that's more than enough time to tell you a bit more. What do you want to know?"

The rabbit was practically bouncing in his seat. "The big case! What happened after you and mom solved the big case?"

Nick smiled at his son's enthusiasm. "You got it. Let me see, we had just finished arresting the mayor, and needed to go to the hospital…"

* * *

Judy woke up. Instantly, she wished that she hadn't. Pain began to sear up her leg again, though it was quite a bit duller than what it had been earlier. She looked around, trying to get a sense for her surroundings. Everything was white, and there was a very strong sterile scent, one that smelled suspiciously like…

Her suspicions were correct. She was in a hospital bed, though it didn't look like there was much activity going on. In fact, the only person around was-

"Carrots! You're up!" Nick stood up from his chair, and walked over to her bedside. He held the edge of the bed as she looked at him in confusion. "Why are we at the hospital? Did something happen?"

He chuckled slightly. "I guess you forgot about that leg wound already, huh?" At the mention of her leg, she remembered the tusk of the mammoth sculpture that she'd torn it open on. She flinched slightly, remembering the shock and pain of the moment.

"Was it that bad?" she asked worriedly.

Nick shook his head. "Nah, not really. Just needed a lot of stitches. See, Bellwether was in the process of yelling at us as the police dragged her away- probably something along the lines of, 'I'll have my revenge!' or something- and you kinda just passed out. Blood loss from that gash combined with traumatic shock, and all the adrenaline running through your system? It was probably way too much for your cute little bunny heart to handle." He smirked, expecting a provoked reaction, but none came.

"Wow, is this improvement? First time I call anything about you cute, and you _didn't_ freak out?" Judy returned the fox's smirk. "What's the point in resisting if you're just gonna keep doing it?"

He nodded his head in acknowledgement. "Good point. Anyway, I think the doc should be coming in soon-"

Almost as if on cue, the door opened and in came two mammals; one was a male moose dressed in a white coat; the doctor. The other was a bit more surprising; Chief Bogo.

"Glad to see you're awake, Officer Hopps. It seems that you're going to be fine," said the moose smiling. "We've stitched up your leg, so there's no real worry; but we're just going to keep you overnight for observation. If you'd like any pain medication before tonight, be sure to let us know. Otherwise; just remember to stay off that leg for a few weeks. Someone will be along shortly to discuss with you about the choice of crutches or a wheelchair until you're cleared to walk again. Until the next time, Officer Hopps." With that, the moose left, leaving them alone with the massive Water Buffalo.

No one said anything for a minute or so, waiting for someone else to speak first. Eventually, Bogo broke the silence. "So… it would appear that our good Mayor Bellwether was behind the savage attacks."

Judy nodded. "Yes, sir. It seems that she wanted to turn all of the prey populace against the predators." Bogo nodded, accepting this information. "So you and… this fox here managed to solve this all on your own?" She nodded.

"I see. So I guess I don't have anyone else to blame for the massive damage caused by a train explosion, nor for the impersonation of an officer as you set about collecting these clues to turn in?" She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came to mind in defense of her. It was true; she and Nick had probably racked up quite the repair job by crashing that train, and when they'd interrogated Weaselton, she hadn't been a member of the force. With her ears drooping slowly behind her, she hung her head, and shook it side to side.

"Good. I guess that also means that there are no additional people to thank for single-handedly saving the city."

Her head snapped back up to match Bogo's gaze, where he was- not really smiling, but definitely doing some kind of warm expression- at her. Reaching into a pocket, he pulled out something small and gold. "I believe that this belongs to you, Hopps; try not to lose it next time." In the palm of his hand was her badge, the one she'd returned to him when she quit being an officer. Words couldn't express how happy she was at that moment, and she felt her eyes welling up with tears as she took it from him. Nick spotted this, despite her subtle attempts to keep them from seeing.

"See? I'm telling you that you bunnies are emotional!" She gave a wet laugh, too happy to contradict him. Bogo, usually quite stoic and unyielding, allowed himself a small upward turn of the corners of his mouth. Then, he turned to Nick.

"Fox. I don't believe I've caught your name yet." Nick shrugged. "Wilde, Nick Wilde." The buffalo snorted. "I figured that the name sounded familiar. As the facts go, you helped her solve this case?" Nick nodded, unsure of where this was headed.

Boo reached into another pocket of his, and pulled out an envelope. "This came into our department, addressed to you. It would appear that a certain bunny filed an employee application for you in your place." Nick's eyes widened slightly, and he looked over at Judy.

She gave him a pained expression. "Guilty as charged. It's not like I was gonna throw it away after you gave it back to me!" He raised one eyebrow, and rolled hie eyes. Looking back at Bogo, he reached out and took the letter. Tearing it open, he found a professionally looking paper inside.

"It's from the Zootopia Police Academy," supplied Bogo. "Apparently, they've got a spot open for… someone of your skill set." Nick's mouth hung slightly open as he read the letter, and then looked back up to Bogo. The buffalo's stony face had returned. "I trust that you can watch over Officer Hopps here until she's released tomorrow?"

Nick swallowed hard. "Uh, yes… sir?" Bogo nodded appreciatively. "Good." Turning to face the both of them, he gave them one last parting compliment before leaving; "Great job to the both of you. I thank you, and this city thanks you." Without another word, the Chief departed.

Nick exhaled deeply. "Jeez, I had no idea he was even capable of emotion; I thought he'd burst a blood vessel trying!" Judy stifled a laugh out of respect for her senior officer. "Hush! You wanna watch some TV?"

"Sure." Judy patted a spot on the bed next to her, and he hopped up, albeit with some difficulty. Laying back against the headboard next to her, he passed her the remote. She began to flick through a few channels before settling on a sitcom, _Life's a Zoo._

"Hey, Nick?" The fox turned to the bunny next to him as she vied for his attention. "What's up Carrots?"

She held out her paw, palm up. "Thanks for sticking with me as a friend, even after that fiasco of a press interview I made. I know I already apologized for it… but I just want to make sure you know how much I really do appreciate your friendship." She smiled brightly. "I think we're gonna be great partners."

He reached over and grabbed her extended paw with his own, a smile on his face. "I wouldn't have it any other way." And together, they finished out the rest of that day to corny laugh-tracks and exaggerated jokes, content with one another's company.

* * *

Peter looked at his father in awe. "Wow! Was that when you and mom started liking each other?"

Nick chuckled slightly. "Not yet. Well, I mean we were definitely best friends by then, but we didn't _like_ each other quite in the way you're thinking yet."

The rear door opened, and Peter spied the snow-white fur of his sister entering the car through his peripheral vision. "Hey dad! Where's mom?"

"Just me today," he replied, shifting the car into drive. "Your mom's dealing with a lot of work at the moment. I'm gonna drop you guys off at home, and then I have to head out to grab some food for dinner. You can watch after your brother until then, right?"

"You got it!" Peter knew that Lucy would probably just chat on her phone, but that didn't bother him. It meant he could have some alone time and think about all the cool stuff his mom and dad did before he was around.

Nick turned to Peter as they drove. "You're really into our story, aren't you?" Peter nodded energetically.

"Oh, are we still on about that?" drawled Lucy, sounding bored. Nick gave her a smug smile. "Hey, I can't help it if your brother thinks your mom and I are cool! I'm sure he'll learn soon enough," he said jokingly, implying that he and Judy weren't interesting.

Nick knew perfectly well that they were the coolest mammals around.

* * *

 _A/N: Now we're out of the movie story, and beginning to delve into what happened after! Just trying to build a stable structure before moving on from established timelines and forging new pathways! Does everyone like the format, in which the story is told through the eyes of Peter listening to his parents' tales? I'm currently already on chapter 3, but I'm not sure if I can keep this up on a daily basis; I guess it depends on how long the chapters are. If they're this length or shorter, I can probably get 1 a day. If they're longer, then I'd have to do maybe every other day. Which would you guys prefer?_

 _Remember to follow, favorite, and review!_


	3. Ignition (Part 1)

Judy arrived home later that night. Turning the car off in the driveway, she saw through the window that the lights in the kitchen were on. It was nearing dinnertime, and Nick was probably preparing something for the kids. Her eyelids lowered slightly, and a smile appeared on her face out of affection for the fox. It was times like these that she was glad she'd been able to see goodness in him when nobody else had.

Entering the front door, she took notice of several stimuli. First, there was a rich aroma of sautéed vegetables wafting around in the air. The second was a tiny ball of energetic fluff that torpedoed into her outstretched arms and hugged her tightly.

"Mom!" it cried in excitement. She laughed. "Wow, you're a bit eager to see me, aren't you?" She released her son and gave him a grin in response to his own equally happy face.

"Hey Carrots!" Nick shouted from the kitchen. "How was your day?"

She groaned aloud. "Better left unsaid. I'd rather just forget about it." She waltzed into the kitchen where Nick stood at the stove, his hands holding two separate pans; one full of bell peppers and rice medley, and a one with seared salmon inside. He noticed her gaze.

"One for you and Pete, one for Lucy and I." Bowing his head toward the oven, he added, "And a blueberry pie for dessert!" He chuckled. "Sorry, couldn't resist. We'll have even more to cook when Grayson visits next week for spring break."

Judy slapped her head. "How could I forget? Do you remember when he's arriving?" He nodded. "This Saturday, around one thirty is what he told me."

She nodded, and gave one last look around. An idea slipped into her mind, and she slowly crept up behind her husband.

"Well, it seems like you have everything handled here, I'd say." She grinned as she wrapped her arms around his midriff, her phalanges moving around suggestively. "But I still have to find a place for my paws! I suppose you'll have to do…"

Nick grinned slyly at her. "I'd be more than willing to oblige, hon- but maybe we should just eat dinner first, before you ruin the kids' appetites?" He nodded towards the door frame of the kitchen, and Judy quickly turned to see both Peter and Lucy standing there watching them. The white fox looked like she was ready to be sick, and Peter's long ears were twitching as he squinted curiously; he would understand when he was older, but now was definitely not yet the time for that to happen.

She hurriedly stepped away from Nick, a pink blush of embarrassment appearing in her cheeks. "U-uh, how about you two wash up, huh?" She phrased it as a question, but both knew that it was truly a command, and scampered out of sight. Judy smacked her palm against her face. The red fox caught the action with a snicker.

"Don't worry, you and I both know just how irresistible I can be. Who could blame you for giving into your primal instincts in the face of my unyielding charm?" She shot him a look of daggers, one quite different from the loving gaze she'd held him in several seconds ago.

"Shut up." Nick, just as wise as his kids, heeded her warning.

…

Lucy stuck another piece of fish on her fork. "This is delicious! Thanks, dad!"

Nick gave a mock expression of being hurt. "What, does no one think I can cook? I did have to live by myself for quite a long time before I met your mother!"

Judy's expression became smug. "I'm aware of the fact, and I'm surprised that you managed to survive all those years on your own if your cooking was as bad as it was when we first started dating." He gave her a withering glare, but did not bother to defend himself; he was leaps and bounds ahead of where he had once been in the cooking department.

She smiled again, but this time without the smugness. "I do have to give credit, though; you really came through tonight. These peppers are great!" Peter nodded his agreement with his mother's sentiment. She looked over at him.

"So," began Judy, "what did you do after school today?" He returned her smile. "Oh, dad told me about what happened after the big case, when you had to go to the hospital!"

She seemed surprised. "He did? I thought-" She shook her head. "Never mind, it doesn't matter. What do you think so far?"

Peter looked down slightly, weighing his response. "Well, I think it's super cool how you and dad became great friends because of the case… but I still don't see how you two ended up dating."

Lucy made a gagging face. "Look, we're still eating; I don't need to hear about our parents' love life, Pete!" Judy narrowed her eyes at her, and gave just the slightest hint of a smirk.

"Just for that, young lady, you are required to sit here until we finish telling Pete about the next part of the story." She opened her mouth to protest, but her mother's vibrant purple eyes bored into her, daring her to speak out. Closing her maw, she sat against the back of her chair, now rather annoyed at her brother, but compliant. Nick watched his daughter's plan of action go up in smoke, and snorted to contain his laughter.

Judy clasped her paws together, and let her chin rest against the bridge of her fingers as she stared at her son. "Now, where did you all leave off?"

Peter thought for a moment. "When you apologized to dad again about… something? What were you sorry for?"

She winced. Maybe this wasn't the best idea after all. Nick snickered.

"Your mother may have… well, she almost tore the city in two." Judy hid her face in her paws, still feeling shame for that moment even after so many years had passed. "Not really her fault of course, but she'd still had a few deep-rooted biases concerning predators that hadn't quite left her." Peter looked at her in shock.

"What? But you're a cop! You help the city, right?" Judy groaned. "Let's pretend I feel bad enough about it, and we don't need to rub it in any more," she muttered. Nick teasingly pushed her shoulder.

"Don't beat yourself up about it, you've apologized for that more times than anyone can count, and that's all the kids need to know. Now," he continued, his eyes falling on Peter, "is there a _different_ place you'd like us resume the story at?"

Peter thought for a minute, his mind settling on an idea. "Could you tell me about how you two first started liking each other? Like, _liking_ each other?"

Both Nick and Judy looked at each other for a moment. Judy exhaled deeply. "This is gonna be a long one." He nodded. "No kidding. Want to start off?"

She tilted her head in thought. "I suppose so, but you'll have to take over at some point." She looked back to Peter. "Alright, well if we're starting off from my point of view, I suppose the best place to begin would be…"

-X-

"The mall! I repeat, suspect is attempting to flee into the mall!" Judy yelled into her radio as she followed closely behind the raccoon attempting to escape capture.

"Which mall?" came the frantic cry of Clawhauser. "There's, like, three-" "The one on Sleet and Breyers!" she shouted, having lost her patience with the dispatch officer. She could already picture the cheetah recoiling from her harsh attitude, but frankly she wasn't too concerned at the moment. "Just send me some backup!"

Five minutes ago, she and Nick had been perfectly happy with patrol duty in Tundratown. Judy was a workaholic, but even she had her limits, and the relatively relaxing shift had sounded perfect for a day. They'd been entertaining themselves as they drove throughout the snowy biome;

"… _something white." Judy narrowed her eyes at him. "Nick, we're in Tundratown. 90% of the place is white from the snow!"_

 _He gave her another example of his signature look; the one with that cocked eyebrow with his eyes only half-lidded. "Well, you've always been one for challenges, huh? I can't imagine you wouldn't be what with trying to be the first bunny cop since you were nine."_

 _She elbowed him. "Speak for yourself! You're the first of your kind on the force too! In fact, I think you like work a little more than you let on." He shuddered. "Where would you get an idea like that? No, I had a different kind of motivation to get me through training."_

 _Her ears perked up, curious to what he meant. He noticed, and grinned. "I was pretty sure that if I hadn't joined the academy, you would have probably hunted me down and dragged me off to it yourself. Or failing that, you would have enlisted my help in future investigations anyway. Figured I might as well be paid for it."_

 _She laughed and waved her hand, dismissing him. "Oh, c'mon! I wouldn't-" Then she thought better of it. "Well… I mean, I suppose you do have a point." She looked over at him with a somewhat embarrassed smile upon her face. "Can you blame me? I would have just wanted you to succeed, and-"_

 _She didn't finish her sentence, realizing what she'd been about to say. Fortunately, he filled in the gaps. "I wasn't saying that I was opposed to the idea."_

 _Immediately her eyes snapped to his, meeting his gaze. He suddenly tried to avoid it as he spoke. "I mean… well, you're pleasant enough company, and… I guess it wouldn't have been a_ total _drag having to spend more time with you, even if I wasn't a cop." He smiled warmly. "Luckily for you though, I_ am _a cop now, and you have the privilege of being able to spend your company in my presence." His joking tone was back, as he tried to backtrack slightly on what he'd just opened up to._

 _She didn't know what to say, that was one of the rare moments that she'd seen him say something heartfelt. It wasn't often that he let his walls down, but when it happened, she'd learned to pay attention to those moments…_

 _Unfortunately, life has a habit of messing up moments like these. Nick turned back towards the road and immediately slammed on their brakes. A raccoon carrying a duffel bag over his shoulder was weaving through traffic across the street, sprinting as far as he could from…_

 _Glancing to the left, she spied a professionally dressed panther standing outside his shop, a jewelry store; he was also waving his fist and shouting obscenities at the retreating back of the Raccoon. Nick may call her a dumb bunny at times, but she wasn't stupid. She instantly picked up the radio as Nick shifted the car's gears for a chase._

After the 'coon had realized that his getaway wasn't gonna be so easy, he'd started heading towards more populated sectors of the region. Once he'd reached the shopping mall, Nick had told her to proceed on foot, and that he'd be back soon. She had no idea what he was doing, but he drove off anyway without so much as a hint to what he was doing. With no other options, she'd chased after the criminal by herself, and now she was here; pursuing a raccoon on foot, through a mall, and without her partner.

The masked bandit was heading for the escalators now. She was running as fast as her legs could carry her, but raccoons were the most slippery crooks when it came to evading police, followed closely by weasels and squirrels. She watched as he pushed his way through he legs of the larger mammals on the moving staircase, and wormed his way to the top. She sped up her pace, and in an effort to catch up, jumped onto the black rubbery railing of the escalator instead, and began to ascend as quickly as she could while maintaining her balance.

The raccoon had reached the top, and began to speed away. Swearing under her breath, she made a split decision and leapt to the side of the escalator, hoping that her legs would propel her far enough to grab-

 _Yes!_ she thought as her paws curled around the civilian barrier to keep people from falling off the second floor. She pulled herself up and over, and resumed the hunt for the thief.

"Outta my way!" he screeched, startling customers and forcing them to move aside from him. Likewise, Judy was consistently having to clear her own path; "ZPD, move aside!" Now, most of the animals in the mall stood against the walls, not wishing to interfere with the peculiar sight before them.

Eventually, the raccoon turned down a walkway leading to the parking garage. This was it; either she was going to lose him in the multi-floored complex of cars, or she had to nab him quick. She willed herself to give another spurt of energy into catching up.

The 'coon shoved the door open hurriedly, causing it to swing out and slam into the restrictions of its hinges. Thank goodness it wasn't a large mammal like a tiger or hippo, or the door might have detached completely. Judy ran right out after him, but then found a sight that she hadn't expected whatsoever, and apparently neither had the raccoon.

Parked in front of the walkway that connected the upper level of the mall to the parking garage was a police cruiser. And who should be standing in front of it but…

"Nick?" The fox winked at her. The raccoon said nothing, obviously dumbfounded at the fact that his one method of escape had already long been blocked off by the canid officer in front of him.

"For a bunny, you aren't that fast Carrots! I've been waiting her for ages." He chuckled, and focused his attention on the thief. "There are only two exits and entrances to this shopping center buddy, it's not very big; now had you tried the one over on Frosted and Merry lane, we might have had a bigger issue." He gestured to the back of the car. "Now, would you like to save us the trouble of taking you down, and just hop in the back?"

Despite her feeling of abandonment earlier, Judy now felt something else; security. She thought Nick had left her, but in fact he'd been sealing off the thief's escape. Not that she appreciated how he'd neglected to tell her what he was doing, but she had to give credit where it was due; she was impressed with how intelligently he'd handled the situation. It was one of those things that made her grateful that he was her partner.

Unfortunately, the raccoon wasn't giving in that easily. Instead, he dropped the bag on the ground and set himself in a stance ready to fight. His paws were raised with the claws pointed towards Nick, and he bared his teeth while simultaneously issuing a hiss in Nick's direction. The smirk dropped from Nick's face as he realized what was happening. "Look pal, this isn't gonna end well if you decide to make that move-"

In a blink, the raccoon struck. He darted forward and leapt onto Nick as the fox tried to reach to his side where his tranquilizer gun was holstered. Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough and instead he fell to the ground as the raccoon's weight and mass impacted against his chest. Judy stood frozen for a moment as she processed exactly what had just happened. Then her instincts kicked in, and she joined the fray with a mission to protect her partner.

The raccoon continued to try and attack Nick; the fox was managing to keep him at bay just at an arm's length, but he wouldn't last much longer. As if the 'coon had read his mind, he finally broke through Nick's defenses and gripped his throat with both hands. Pulling his hands toward his torso, he raised the fox's head above the ground, and then brutally slammed it back down into the street. Nick heard a loud cracking sound as his head smacked into the pavement, and felt his mind going fuzzy. He could hear some kind of ringing that now accompanied the raccoon's snarls, but he couldn't figure out what it was for the life of him. Everything seemed so blurry…

Judy saw the raccoon force Nick's head into the ground and winced. He had to be on the brink of unconsciousness from that impact. In a last ditch effort, she leapt forward with her feet angled towards the raccoon, and waited until she made contact. As soon as she felt her feet brush his fur, she sent a kick with all of her bunny strength into his side. The raccoon heaved from all of the air that had just been pushed out of his lungs, and his body flew backwards nearly a two meters before he hit the side of the police cruiser and slumped to the ground.

She knelt down to check on Nick, and felt a large bruise already beginning to form on the back of his head. That was definitely going to leave a mark. She was about to help him up when the sound of a snarl registered in her ears, and she looked back at the car.

The raccoon was pushing himself back up from the ground, and was glaring at her with something akin to utter hatred. Rather than running away again however, he began to walk back towards her. Her sense of danger was flying off the walls now; he was no longer just a fleeing suspect, but rather a mammal with a grudge. He wasn't going to attack her because it was efficient; he was going to fight her because he wanted revenge and had nothing to lose. And she knew that those two factors were not a good combination to fight against.

She felt her nose begin to twitch out of fear; the raccoon was obviously better naturally equipped than her in terms of weapons, and had held his own against Nick's deceptive strength. But if she ran, he was sure to chase and that would leave her back vulnerable to attack. Not to mention that she was not about to turn tail and run in the face of danger; what kind of officer would she be to abandon her partner and save herself?

As her inner voice was preoccupied with fighting herself, the 'coon sprang into action. She was unprepared, and had no time to defend herself except to hold a paw out in advance. It impeded his progress by maybe half a second as the raccoon simply shoved it aside. She swung her other paw around to punch the crook, but he caught it in his own, and began to crush it. She cried out in pain, and could do nothing as he shoved her to the ground. Once she was in a weak position, he leapt on top of her and began to assault her as he had to Nick.

She could feel his sharp claws ripping through her uniform; this was no longer coordinated or calculated. This was almost a feral level of violence that the raccoon was exhibiting. He wasn't just trying to beat her anymore; he was trying to _kill_ her.

She felt a claw slice through her shirt and cut through the skin of her stomach. She screamed in pain, and tried again to knock him off of her with her right paw. The raccoon caught it again with his left paw, and then grabbed her other one. He quickly moved them together so that they were pinned, and then released one of his own. Now he had both of her paws in one of his, and he still had a free paw with five deadly claws, ready to damage whatever he deemed worthy of it.

For a moment however, he stopped and simply bared his teeth at her, wet with spittle and foam from fighting. "Do you see where being a cop gets ya, stupid bunny?!" he yelled into her face. She struggled against his grip, hoping to free one of her arms, but he was too strong. Using his free paw, he gripped her throat and lifted her head up to his face to a point where she could see all of his frighteningly sharp teeth up close.

"Ya may think you're a big shot, a real cop. But you don't feel so tough now, do ya?" He grinned evilly. "As a last act before I'm sent to jail, let's see if you're a real cop. As the saying goes, it's not your appearance, but what's inside of you that counts." He laughed, and her eyes widened as she realized where he was going with this. "Why don't we just rip you open and spill those lovely guts of yours out? I'm sure that will qualify as 'inside'!" He let go of her throat and drew his claw back to create momentum so that he could puncture her. She closed her eyes, and waited for the painful sensation of being impaled to meet her…

Nothing happened. She opened her eyes again and almost wished she hadn't. Standing behind the raccoon was Nick, now holding the 'coon's drawn back fist. His emerald eyes, usually so calm and collected, were now swirling whirlwinds of rage. She'd never seen Nick so angry about anything in all her time of knowing him, and had she not known that he was protecting her, she would have been terrified. This wasn't even angry; it was beyond that, nothing short of unparalleled fury.

Nick's voice was shaking ever so slightly as he growled menacingly to the raccoon; "Get. Your paws. Off of her." And with all the power he could summon behind those fiery eyes of his, he drew his free paw back in a fist, and sucker punched the raccoon. The ring-tailed mammal went down without another sound, save for the slight clatter of several of his teeth falling into position on the sidewalk. Nick's chest rapidly expanded and retracted as he tried to catch his breath from all of the adrenaline running through his system.

Unbeknownst to Judy, she was doing the same. Her chest was heaving, and her nose was twitching like mad. Nick looked at her, and she met his eyes. "Are you alright?" She said nothing, but automatically reached her hand up to her throat as though to ensure that she truly was fine. She nodded, if not a bit too quickly. He gave her a small nod of acknowledgement and then bent down to the unconscious raccoon, locking both of his paws in a pair of handcuffs.

"I guess we'll have to read him his rights later. Looks like he's gonna be napping for awhile." He gave her a weak smile, but then dropped it once she failed to return it. Instead, he simply leaned against the car, waiting for backup to arrive for transport of the raccoon. Neither said a word as they waited in silence.


	4. Ignition (Part 2)

Judy stared out of the window as Nick drove, idly watching snowflakes pass by the car. The raccoon had been dealt with, handed off to McHorn and Trunkaby for transport back to the precinct. Once that had been taken care of, Nick and Judy had hopped back into their patrol car, and continued on with their assignment.

Neither of them had said a word to to the other for the last ten minutes. It wasn't that they were angry; Judy just didn't know to start off the conversation over what had just happened. So she waited for him to break the silence, as he usually did.

Sure enough, spoke not a minute later, though not exactly with how she'd expected him to; "I'm sorry."

She looked over at him, one of her ears raising in curiosity. "Huh?"

He sighed. "I'm sorry, Carrots. I didn't mean to scare you like that. I was just trying to get him off of you." He shook his head, berating himself. "I could see the fear in your eyes when you looked at me. Plus," he added, looking over at her with a slight grin on his snout, "your nose twitches like it's allergy season when you're scared." She said nothing, waiting for him to return to his serious demeanor so that he could finish explaining.

He turned back to the road and lost the smile. "I get it, don't worry. I probably looked a bit too predatory for your taste back there, and I didn't think about how that would affect you. I just wish-"

"Nick, stop right there."

His mouth shut from the surprise of her suddenly speaking with such a confident tone. She was looking at him earnestly; firm, but with a soft look in her eyes to show that she had no ill will towards him. "That's not it at all."

Nick raised one of his eyebrows in a questioning expression. "Then what is it?"

Judy sighed, and then gestured to her cheek. "You see these?" She was indicating the three thin scars that adorned her face, though they had long since been nearly covered up by her fur. He nodded.

"Yeah, I noticed those the first time I met you. Decided not to mention them, since I didn't know if you were sensitive about it." She rolled her eyes. "Well, I got them when I was a kid. I told you how I always wanted to be a cop, right? Well, I finally told people about my dream when I was nine." Nick said nothing, but felt that he knew where this was heading.

"Most people, my parents included, thought that it was crazy. But I didn't care, and felt like I could take on the world. Maybe I got too caught up with playing the part, and I ended up taking on a bully at a fair, right after my talent show where I'd just revealed my desire to be a cop. He basically left a message for me when he gave me these." Again, she pointed to the scars. "He told me I wouldn't amount to anything, and that I'd never be anything other than a… well, a dumb bunny."

Nick's eyes widened at the familiar term that he had used towards her, realizing why she'd hated it when he said it so much. And something about her evasive way of talking about her bully seemed off. He decided to bite. "What, uh… what species were they?"

Judy hesitated a moment before looking away. "His name was Gideon Gray… he was a fox."

Nick gave a drawn out exhalation of breath. How could he have been so ignorant of why she'd first distrusted him when they'd met, why she'd have been carrying fox repellant of all things. He felt stupid now; he hadn't known it, but back when he'd first hustled her, he'd been playing right into her stereotype, only solidifying the image that she'd held of foxes at the time because of her experiences with them.

But Judy wasn't done. "That's not important though. Well, maybe a bit, because I need you to understand." She wanted to be very sure that he was listening to this.

"Back there, I wasn't afraid of you. I knew perfectly well that you were protecting me; I was reacting to the way you did it. When Gideon got aggressive with me, he let his predatory instincts loose, and gave me these scars." She gestured at him. "But you didn't resort to that. You didn't pull out your claws like the raccoon did, or like Gideon did; you held your own and remained perfectly in control of yourself, not giving into your personal feelings or letting it interfere with the situation."

Nick was confused now. He waited to hear the end of her explanation. "I guess what I'm saying is… I was just seeing you in the same position that Gideon was in, with the same choices… and I was so shocked to see that you didn't lower yourself to his standards, and refused to fight fire with fire." She laughed slightly in shame. "I know, I can't believe how prejudiced it sounds, and I totally get it if you're upset with me-"

He guffawed. "Are you kidding? I thought _you_ were angry with _me!"_ Her eyes widened in surprise. "Why would I be angry with you? You saved my life!"

He shrugged. "Yeah, but I thought that I scared you half to death with the way I'd handled things."

She shook her head. "I've already told you, after I apologized; I will _never_ be afraid of you." She smiled at him, and placed her paw on his. "You're my best friend, and I know that you would never do anything to hurt me."

He seemed at a loss for words; eventually his expression softened, and he returned her affectionate smile with one of his own.

"Thanks, Carrots. It's not worth as much now that you've already said it… but you're my best friend too."

She leaned over and hugged him, closing her eyes while a joyous smile lingered upon her features.

"Trust me- it's worth way more than you think." Indeed, the fox didn't know it yet, but somewhere in her heart… a spark was beginning to take shape, fizzing and popping with confusing and conflicting emotions.

And the fox was in the center of it all.

* * *

Nick's eyes were wide. "You mean to tell me that you were already having feelings for me by then?"

Judy's ears sprung straight up. "You didn't know?!"

The fox laughed, holding his paw over his chest to help calm himself down. "No! I figured that you started later, probably around-" He stopped himself. "Well, maybe that will be the next part of the story. Your version makes me a little sad though."

She raised an eyebrow curiously. "And why's that?"

He grinned with love in his expression. "Because it just means that we could have got together even sooner than we did." With that, he leaned over the table and gave her a kiss, which she enthusiastically reciprocated.

At this, Lucy gagged. "Okay, I sat here for the story, but I'm not sticking around for this." She walked over to the staircase, and began to ascend the steps. "Pete, let me know when Mom and Dad are done ogling each other." The rabbit just watched her leave, and waited until he was sure she was gone. Then he turned back to his parents.

"I can't wait to hear the next part!" Judy gave a sympathetic smile to her son. "I'm sure you can't, but you're gonna have to- you've got homework to finish up. C'mon, hop to it." Reluctantly, Peter left his seat and began to head towards his room. Judy waited until he was out of earshot.

"You know, maybe this will be a regular thing for awhile." She was pondering the possibility- it'd certainly be easier to tell the whole truth if it was set up in this way.

Nick chuckled. "Sure beats having to let it all out in one go. We'd probably break his brain." They sat in silence for a few seconds before the bunny looked slyly at the fox.

"You know… I seem to remember us getting a bit intimate before dinner. What say that we continue the conversation in our room?" She smirked coyly at him as his face gave away his excitement at the prospect.

* * *

 _A/N: Hey guys! Sorry this chapter took awhile for its short length, I've just been trying to deal with the stress of multiple things happening all around the same time. This story should be back to regular updates shortly._

 _Remember to review and follow!_

 _\- Matteoarts_


	5. Making a Move

_A/N: I'm so sorry for taking so long with this chapter everyone, I've just been unbelievably busy with other stories and life in general. I'm gonna try to make it up to you guys by dedicating a little more time to writing this story in addition to keeping up with the other ones. Without further ado, enjoy!_

* * *

Nick opened the door to the shop for Peter, upon which the little rabbit happily skipped inside. Since it was Friday, Lucy had gone to hang out with some of her friends, leaving Peter alone with the parents. Judy had needed to follow up on the paperwork from yesterday, once again needing Nick to go pick up Peter to which he'd willingly agreed. While they were driving, Nick had offered that they get ice-cream, and what young kid was gonna turn that away? So here they were at a nearby ice-cream parlor.

Once he'd entered the shop, Peter immediately hopped over to the flavors to see what was available. He heard a soft coo from behind him, and he looked over to see a mother sheep with her young daughter, pointing to Peter and likely relaying how cute he was to her child. Peter just smiled at them, and waved slightly. He didn't mind other animals thinking he was cute like his mom did; she always treated it like they thought she was inferior, but Peter only saw it as a compliment. Whether he was right or simply naive, he didn't know.

Nick sauntered up behind him, keeping an eye on his young charge. Peter saw the sheep's eyes widen slightly with something similar to fear, but Peter had no idea why her expression had so drastically changed. Deciding it was none of his business, he just looked back to the flavors, and selected one.

"Moose tracks, huh? Thank goodness you took after me with your sense of taste rather than your mother; all smart animals know that chocolate puts everything else to shame." Smiling at his son, Nick reached around to pull out his wallet.

"Excuse me!" Both Nick and Peter turned to the source of the noise, which turned out to be the mother sheep staring accusingly at Nick. "Just what do you think you're doing, sir? Leave that boy alone!"

Peter raised an eyebrow in confusion, but when he turned to his dad he saw that the fox had a knowing grimace on his face. What was going on?

"I do understand your confusion, ma'am, but this isn't a random kid; he's my son. I mean, obviously not biological, but still." The sheep looked from Nick to Peter, switching between the fox and the rabbit intermittently while her daughter clung close to her leg.

"What? Why-"

Suddenly, a grim expression of familiarity came over the ewe's face. "Wait, I think I know you. You're that fox cop, the one with the bunny!" Nick smirked, and raised his right paw in surrender.

"Guilty as charged."

The mother huffed. "How could you two do that with clean consciences? Adopt a child with your kind of… partnership?" The smile quickly disappeared from Nick's face.

"I mean, it'd be bad enough with how unnatural you two are, but raising a child? What if he takes after your poor example?" she said, gesturing at Peter. Nick cleared his throat.

"Actually, my wife and I have three children, and they all seem fine so far. Now, excuse me but I'm here to get an ice-cream for my kid, not argue with you." With that, he turned away from the ewe and flagged down an employee to order.

…

Peter hopped back into the front seat, carefully trying to pull his seatbelt over his chest while balancing his cone of ice-cream. He looked over at Nick, who was shifting the car into drive and pulling out of their parking spot.

"Thanks for the ice-cream, dad."

Nick smiled warmly, and ruffled his son's ears. "No problem bud, no problem at all." He looked back to the road.

Peter felt like he had to ask about what had happened inside the store. "Hey, dad? Why was that sheep so angry at you?"

Nick sighed, having expected this questioning. "She wasn't angry, she was just looking after you, making sure I wasn't some stranger trying to take you." Peter shook his head.

"Maybe at first, but why was she angry when you told her I was your son?"

The corners of Nick's maw drew tight, signifying his discomfort. With a heavy breath, he explained, "Some mammals… some mammals don't like the fact that your mother and I love each other. They don't think it's right or natural, so they lash out."

Peter tilted his head to the left. "Not natural? But you two just love each other, what's wrong with that?"

"Absolutely nothing," huffed Nick, "but many people don't agree with it all the same."

The rabbit looked down slightly, and then back up at his dad. "Was that what Lucy meant when she said other mammals didn't like you two because you were different species?"

Nick shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. "Look, let's change the subject. I'll tell you more when your mom and I are ready to talk about that."

Peter thought for a few moments, wondering what they could talk about. Finally, he struck an idea. "Hey, you left off on the story where you and mom started to like each other!"

Nick nodded. "Yes, so?"

The rabbit looked eagerly at him. "Well, once you two liked each other, the next step was dating right?" Nick wasn't too keen on how excited the rabbit looked.

"I'm not sure you want to hear all that lovey-dovey stuff, kiddo. I think some- I _know_ that some parts are not for your ears." Peter continued on, undeterred.

"Well then, how about the very first date you two had?"

Nick smiled fondly. "Now, _that_ is a good choice. I think you're gonna like this one."

* * *

Nick walked into the ZPD like usual, a saunter with a hint of confidence in every step. He strode past Clawhauser, waving a paw nonchalantly as the cheetah enthusiastically greeted him, like usual. And, like usual, there was a smirk plastered across the fox's face. In fact, the only unusual thing about today concerning Nick was how late he was, and he had a good reason for it.

But today was anything but a usual day.

Well, at least not for him. Everyone else was probably going to have the same boring routine that they did every day, but his was going to be slightly out of his comfort zone. Despite his outward shell of calm and collectiveness, he was a wreck inside. Nervousness was eating away from within, threatening to overwhelm him if he didn't act exactly as he normally would on any other day. No matter what, he was not going to ruin this by giving away what he was doing.

Because today was the day he asked Judy out.

He couldn't pinpoint exactly when he'd started developing feelings for the little fuzz-ball, but he knew that it had been a while now. Maybe after the savage case? Maybe after he'd saved her life from that raccoon? Or maybe it was just a slow process that had come as a combination of all of it. In any matter, those feelings were here; and for a long time he'd tried to ignore them. After all, he knew more of the… risky consequences that could arise from such a relationship.

But he'd decided that he couldn't ignore these feelings any longer, he could take whatever was thrown at him. And Carrots was a grown mammal, she would have better judgment than him of whether or not she'd deal with the aftermath like he could. Either way, he'd have to ask her on the actual date first.

Maybe he was making too big a deal out of the occasion; mammals went on dates all the time, right? It was just a part of life, a normal part of finding the one person you'd want to be with. And that was fine with him if he was, he'd rather make too big a deal than not enough, and then be unprepared to deal with the consequences.

See, he was pretty sure that Judy felt the same way about him as he did about her. True, she'd never let on to the fact, but he noticed little hints here and there; always trying to find some way to spend time in his company, little remarks she made here and there, and even a bit of possessiveness she expressed whenever other female officers talked to him. Sure, they could all be coincidences, but that was an awful lot of coincidences.

But that didn't make it impossible for all of those things to be purely that; coincidences. He was hoping they weren't, but assuming they were, what would happen after today? If, say, she didn't like him back, it could jeopardize their whole relationship. She would know that he wanted their friendship to be more, and they would have to deal with that awkward fact every time they were ever on patrol, taking on a case, even just seeing each other every day. There were a lot of things that could negatively impact their relationship if it turned out she didn't like him, and that as the main reason he'd held off for so long when it came to asking her out.

So now, he was going to do it, albeit with all of the possibilities and consequences of what could happen etched deep in the back of his mind. He decided that he'd wait until after Bogo handed out assignments to make a plan of when to ask. Hoping that he wasn't displaying how he truly felt as he walked, he strode into the bullpen.

He looked around the room trying to spot his partner among the larger mammals before a familiar gray blur launched at him. "Where have you been?! You almost missed roll call!"

He shrugged apologetically at Judy. "Sorry, Carrots. Had to stop for something along the way." In truth, he'd set up a reservation for tonight at a good restaurant he knew around town in the event that she said yes. If she said no, he could easily just cancel it.

She tapped her foot rapidly against the floor, an obvious sign of her anxiety. "Well, at least you're here. C'mon, let's go!"

Judy led the way over to their usual chair that they stood on at the front of the room. Not a moment too soon either, for Bogo came through the door on the right of the room no later than they'd situated themselves on the chair.

"Alright everyone," he announced, his gruff voice silencing most of the small talk taking place around the room, "today should be a rather easy day for everyone. General patrols all around. Well, except for Hopps and Wilde."

Inwardly, Nick wondered what the chief had in store for them. A new case? Something big, exciting?

"You two are filing paperwork and reports."

Nick groaned, slapping his paw against his face. Why did he have to jinx it? Likewise, Judy had planted her face into the table out of frustration. He knew how much she hated to sit around.

Bogo shrugged nonchalantly. "Sorry, but someone has to do it. That duty falls to you two today. Get to it."

…

A manilla envelope was sealed as Nick boringly filed yet another report. Tossing it on top of the small pile that had accumulated on the right side of his desk, he reached towards the much larger pile of papers that adorned the left side; a mountain of papers and police reports just waiting to be properly stored. It was a nightmare.

He heard the clicking of a keyboard behind him, and smirked slightly. At least his job was slightly easier, he only had to sort which files belong with which; Carrots was having to type out digital copies of each of them for the records department. Her desk was situated adjacent from his, and their chairs were back to back, making it quite easy to pass the time whenever he decided to strike up a conversation.

And right now, his inner fox senses were telling him it was time for such a conversation. Spinning around to her, he called out, "How are those copies coming along, Carrots?"

He heard the bunny sigh in exasperation. "Not well. This is so mind-numbingly boring; I think I'd rather be a meter maid again."

He chuckled lightheartedly. "I wouldn't wish that job upon my worst enemy. Besides, that orange didn't really fit you. Looked cute in the hat, though."

She turned and pointed a finger at him warningly. "What did we say about calling me cute?" He could tell from her tone that she wasn't too serious, and he acted accordingly.

He held his hands up in mock surrender. "Well, better a cute bunny than a dumb bunny, right? But, I suppose you're right. No more calling you cute, because it would be absolutely horrible of me to compliment my partner for her good looks." He held his right paw over his heart, pretending to take a vow, and then sat back in his chair properly. He faced the large pile of reports again.

He heard nothing but silence from her side for a few moments. Once several seconds had passed, he heard her sheepishly mutter, "Well, when you put it that way… I mean, I guess it's alright…"

Nick spun back around with his victory grin. "Alright, if you insist." She just smiled knowingly at him, and turned back to her work. He was about to do the same, but then thought back to what his original intent had been for today. Was now a good time? Then again, that was't the question he should be asking, but rather; would a better time come along?

They were alone, away from prying eyes. They were both in a comfortable mood, joking around and teasing one another. Plus, they were so bored that any kind of excitement (example number one, asking someone on a date) was sure to be met with a positive reaction.

He tapped on her shoulder lightly, and she faced him once again. Her mauve colored eyes focused intently on him, curious as to what he had to say.

His confidence that he'd worked so hard to maintain today fled as soon as the actual moment of action came around. He found himself grabbing the back of his neck awkwardly, and stumbling over his words. "So, uh… Judy. I was just wondering-"

Her eyes immediately widened, and she spun around faster than he'd known her swivel chair was capable of. "Okay, what's wrong? You never use my real name unless it's serious."

Damn. He'd let his anxiety get to him and mess him up. He just laughed, trying to sidestep. "Oh, nothing's wrong. I was actually just wondering something."

Her head tilted slightly, one of her ears bending at the end in confusion. She wasn't buying it, his walls never seemed to work on her. He exhaled deeply, and just decided to let it out. "I was actually just gonna ask you if you're doing anything tonight."

Carrots' reaction was immediate; her mouth opened slightly in surprise, and her eyes widened in conjunction with the previous movement. He continued on, "You know, just wondering if you'd like to go to dinner together? If you wanted to, of course."

Her nose began twitching slightly. "You mean… together?"

Was this good? Bad? He had no idea how she was reacting to anything right now, and he began to backpedal to give her an out if she wanted an escape. "Well, I mean it was just a question! No need to freak out or anything, I was just curious. If you don't want to, there's no trouble at all."

He began to turn around, chuckling slightly as he did so. "Yeah, just don't worry about it. So, what _are_ you doing tonight, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Nick."

"Got some fun stuff planned, I hope?"

" _Nick."_

He finally caved at the sound of her insistent voice. He found her large purple eyes hovering quite close to him, she had moved her chair's position closer to his. More importantly, he saw that she had a smile on her face.

"I would love to."

His ears perked up in surprise. "Really? I mean, seriously, don't feel bad if-"

She shook her head. "I mean it! That sounds great! You just caught me a bit off guard is all."

He nodded his acknowledgement. "Well, alright then. Does seven work?"

She flashed him another small smile. "It's a date!"

Both turned back to their work, and continued to file their reports, but much more energetically than before; each of them eager to finish as quickly as possible to leave and prepare for tonight.


	6. The First Date

_A/N: I know that some of you have already left kind words on the last chapter, but I actually wanted to address that; I'm glad that at least someone enjoyed it, because I felt that I'd rushed it and that its writing was not nearly as effective as I'm used to producing. I think I just wanted to put something out there to ensure that people didn't forget about it, but don't worry! This one has been more well thought out, and won't follow the same mistake!_

* * *

Nick walked down the sidewalk, his paws comfortably in his pockets. He'd let Carrots know where to meet him for dinner, and she knew to arrive at seven. But he was about fifteen minutes earlier than he needed to be; he just wanted to make sure that everything would run smoothly tonight.

The restaurant he'd set up the reservations at was a good one, _Albert's._ He'd chosen it for several reasons; first, it wasn't a super expensive place that fancy aristocrats decided to gorge themselves at, but was still on the high end of quality as far as middle class sit-downs went. He definitely hadn't wanted to take Judy to a place where the atmosphere was filled with the snooty attitudes of upper-class mammals, but he'd still wanted somewhere that made up for the lack of fanciness in service and reliability.

Second, the food here was friendly to both prey and predators alike. Salads and lots of greens for either, and then fish and bug-protein based meals specifically for preds. Some places only served one or the other, determined to attract a certain audience. But _Albert's_ was open to both types of mammals, and it would just make his job easier.

Many a time, he'd avoided eating meat when he was around Judy. He wasn't sure how she'd react to it, if it would freak her out or something similar. But he wasn't planning on maintaining a green-only diet for life, and he wanted to see how Judy took to his eating habits concerning meat. Granted, fish weren't sentient like mammals were, but he thought it might make her uncomfortable all the same. Better to show her what he preferred to eat ahead of time rather than waiting until they were in a committed relationship and then finding that she wasn't okay with it.

If it ever got that far, anyway.

And third, he knew the owner of the restaurant, Albert himself. The wolverine and fox had been on good terms for many years now, and Nick had a good chance of seeing him around at this time. Albert liked to work in the restaurant itself, greeting and seating patrons as they came through the doors. A grin on his face, he thought of how surprised the wolverine would be since Nick hadn't had much reason to come down here in the last few months, and it'd been a while since either of them had seen one another.

As he approached the restaurant, his ears detected a familiar voice coming through the open doors and confirmed his predictions; "Welcome to _Albert's_! How many? Alright then, Javier will escort you to your table, enjoy your dinner!"

Nick walked in, his smile still etched upon his features. Albert was looking down at his paper that he was using to mark wait times and parties. "Welcome to Albert's! How many will there be today?"

"I have a reservation for two," replied Nick smoothly. Albert began looking through his notes.

"Name?"

"Nick." At that simple mention, the wolverine looked up to see who exactly he was talking with, and his features lit up in excitement and recognition. "Nicholas! My boy, you didn't tell me that you were coming in tonight!"

"Technically I did, when I ordered the reservation," joked Nick, and both laughed heartily.

"Ah, you always were a wise-mouth, Nicholas." Albert looked inquisitively at the fox. "So what've you been up to that's made you so busy to come down here?"

Nick held his hands up apologetically. "Sorry, Alby. My new job's a bit more time-consuming than I'm used to."

Albert was taken aback. "New job?" Nick reached into his back pocket, and pulled out a small pouch that he now carried at all times. Undoing the strap across the front, it fell away to reveal his ZPD badge.

The wolverine's claws immediately flew to the sides of his mouth in enthusiasm. "You're a cop now?! Oh, that's great Nicholas! I knew you had it in you to go straight!"

Nick nodded slightly. "Well, you were right. Just took a bit of a pushing and prodding from a good friend."

Albert gestured at the reservation notes. "I'm guessing the same friend that you're taking here tonight? Who's the lucky lady?" He snorted at the look on Nick's face from having been found out. "Oh, come now! It's pretty obvious from your attire that you're meeting someone special here tonight!" He pointed at Nick's outfit which consisted of pressed black pants, a similarly black blazer, and a tie that actually matched the rest of his clothing for once.

He shrugged. "Maybe I am. Will you direct her to the table when she comes?"

Albert winked knowingly. "Of course. What is the young lady's name?"

"Judy."

Albert made a note to himself on the paper. "… 'Judy'. Alright then, your table is right over there!" He pointed out a seating arrangement over in the corner of the restaurant. Nick was perfectly fine with that; the less people around them, the better. He found that he enjoyed places more when others weren't gawking at him.

He thanked Albert, and began to walk away before realizing that he'd left out an important detail. He turned back to the wolverine. "Uh, Alby? Just a head's up; she's not what you're expecting."

The wolverine chuckled. "What, is she a handful?" Nick shook his head.

"No- well, yes, but that's not what I meant. Just… don't be on the lookout for a vixen, alright?"

Albert looked curious, like he wanted to ask more but Nick had disappeared and sat down at his table. Now, all he had to do was sit here and wait.

He spent most of the time looking around at other customers and mammals. Some were on dates, some weren't. He did notice a recurring pattern though; for all the gatherings that were simply friendly and nothing more, he found them to be comprised of several different species. But for all of the couples that were on a date, they were all the same as their partner. Two zebras sat nearby, enjoying their chat and holding hooves. Over in the opposite corner was a set of lions, and near the center of the establishment was a pair of otters.

He knew what he'd been getting himself into; he couldn't kick himself over this now. Interspecies couples happened sometimes, sure, but they were about as rare as it came. Whether it was from the fact that it just didn't happen very often, the fear of discrimination and what would happen if such couples became public, or a combination of both, they just didn't happen. And when they did, it was always between similar species at the very least; a tiger and lioness, a zebra and horse, animals that at least were close to one another.

But a fox and a rabbit? They weren't remotely close to one another, let alone even the same type of mammal; he was a predator, and she was a prey animal. He could only imagine how vocal dissenters of such a relationship would be if things did progress with them.

Whatever happened, he'd deal with it as it came. Hopefully the night would go smoothly, and Carrots wouldn't be scared away.

His ears perked up at the sound of Albert's voice at the front again; "Good evening, Miss! May I ask how many… oh, you're expecting someone? And that's… ah, you must be Judy! Right this way!"

Albert stepped into view, accompanied by a very familiar bunny, and Nick's mouth opened slightly in shock.

She wore a silver turtleneck with a heathered pattern, and fitting black leggings. It was a simple enough outfit, but it was perfect in his eyes; she almost never dressed up unless it was required for some event, and this matched her mindset perfectly. It would have just looked weird to see her in a dress, but this made her look more beautiful than any fancy clothing ever could.

Judy smiled at him nervously as she was led to the table, and her seat was pulled back by Albert for her to sit. He'd personally escorted her over to the table, probably due to his knowledge of what Nick was looking for tonight. She took her seat, and he pushed her back in gently, then bowed. While his chest was lowered, he opened one eye and winked at Nick, then stood up and walked back to the front of the restaurant.

He gave her a smile. "Hey Carrots; hopefully this is a nice change of pace from the records room."

She mocked a shudder, and sighed. "Oh, absolutely; I hope we never get put on that stupid job again." Now, she looked around the building, making note of its qualities and atmosphere. "Honestly though, this _is_ nice. Thank you for asking me here tonight," she said, and looked over at him with those amethyst eyes of hers. He didn't respond until he realized that she was waiting for him to make the next move, having set up the basis of conversation.

"Oh, no problem! I should thank you for coming," he chuckled. "Yeah, Albert and I go back a ways. His restaurant has always been one of my favorites due to its…" he struggled to find a word fitting enough for the place. "…neutrality."

One of Judy's ears cocked in curiosity, and he explained, "Well, it just fits quite a few scenarios; friendly gatherings, date nights, just a place to relax or be left alone, you know. Plus it's friendly to practically all animals, with options for everyone to enjoy." He subtly and ever so slightly emphasized 'everyone', as a slight reminder to himself of what he'd be ordering tonight.

Her mouth turned upwards into a smile. "I get what you mean." They were silent for a few moments until she pointed to Nick's attire; "It's nice to see you in some clothing that matches for once! I was beginning to think that I'd never see you off work without some kind of odd fashion statement to make." She laughed warmly, and he felt himself joining in.

"Yeah, I supposed I do have a habit of that, don't I?" He cleared his throat. "And as for you, well… you look absolutely…"

Her eyelids dropped in consternation, thought the smile remained on her face. "I swear, if you take advantage of what we said earlier today, and say cute…!"

He laughed slightly. "Oh, no! I was actually going to go with beautiful." That got him the reaction he was expecting; she immediately stiffened and her nose began to twitch ever so little. He smirked at her as a faint tinge of pink blush began to appear on her cheeks. As if she noticed how she was acting right now, she meekly smiled, and her eyes looked down for a moment before meeting his again, accepting the compliment. He may have been nervous, but that didn't mean he had to show it; it just meant he had to make sure that she was nervous too so that they were on the same page.

A young jaguar came over to them, dressed in a waiter's garb. "Good evening; my name is Javier, and I will be your server today. Here are your menus…" He handed them two menus in a front-and-back styled format, and then awaited their response. "Can I get any drinks started for you two tonight?"

Nick shook his head slightly. "Just water for me tonight, thanks."

Judy on the other hand, nodded and said,"I'd just like some sweet tea if that's alright." The waiter nodded, and walked away to get their drinks. Judy began to pore over the vegetarian side of the menu, pointing at different items every so often. "Ooh, that looks good. But so does this… I wonder if I'd be able to substitute those for carrots?"

After a few minutes, she looked up at Nick. "I don't know, what would you recommend? What do you order when you come here?" She watched him, waiting for his input.

He hadn't expected this; he didn't think he'd be telling her directly that he usually had the salmon dish. "Oh, well, uh… I don't really know how all the salads taste."

One of her eyebrows raised inquisitively, and he relented, opting to get it over with. "Well, I'll eat salad when I'm with you most of the time, aside from the occasional bug-bar, but when I'm here I usually order the fish." He shrugged apologetically, but her reaction surprised him more than he was now thinking he had to her.

Her eyes had widened not out of fear, but out of embarrassment. "Oh, of course! I'm sorry, I just- I kind of forgot, you know, considering I never see you eat that." She looked back to the menu, now attempting to find something on her own ability.

He blinked. "You're… you're not…?" She looked back up at him.

"Not what?" He shrugged.

"I mean… that doesn't make you uncomfortable? My eating meat?" Her eyebrows came together.

"Why would I be uncomfortable? You like fish, I don't. I wouldn't expect all predators to be born with those," she said pointing to his much sharper teeth, "and then have to live on nothing but leaves and veggies for all their life."

It felt so relieving to hear her say that; and here he'd been, dreading that she'd be- well, maybe not disgusted, but something similar when she found out about his preferred foods. He hadn't expected her to be so accepting of it when the time came.

The waiter came back with their drinks, and the rest of the night began to pass quite nicely.

…

Once Nick covered the check, both he and Judy stood up to leave. He just had to remark once more on how great that sweater looked on her, and he wished that she'd wear it more often.

She held up a finger and said, "Would you mind waiting, I'm going to visit the ladies' room for a minute." She walked towards the restrooms, leaving him alone in the restaurant. Now that activity was dying down, he walked over to where

Albert was at the front. The wolverine turned at the sound of approaching foot steps.

"So, how did it go?" he asked. Nick smiled.

"It was perfect, Alby. Tonight couldn't have gone smoother than if I'd tried to make it so." Albert nodded appreciatively.

"I'm glad that you chose my place as the first date for your… special night." He looked around, looking for other animals within earshot, and found none. "For more reasons that you think."

Nick raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" he asked cautiously, though he had an idea what this was about. Albert looked slightly uncomfortable.

"Well… obviously, there are a few differences between you two. You know what I'm referring to, I doubt that you haven't thought about this." He shrugged. "I have no issue with it; love is love, right? But other mammals… just watch yourself, Nicholas."

Nick took the warning seriously, and nodded his head gratefully. He spun around once he heard the pitter patter of Judy's feet coming up behind him.

"Alright, I'm good. What now?" Nick's eyebrows shot up.

"Now?"

"I'm still free and have nothing to do," she began, "so if you're still up for it, we could take a walk?" It was simple enough, but it meant a lot to Nick that she still wanted to continue.

"Sure, Carrots."

They walked out of _Albert's_ , and set out down the sidewalk. The street lamps were coming on, the night air was cool and crisp… Nick didn't see how this night could get any better.

Suddenly, he felt a furry presence trying to worm its way into his paw. He looked down to see Judy intertwining her fingers with his, and she looked up at him with nothing but joy in her eyes. "Nick?"

"Yeah, Carrots?"

"Thank you for tonight. It was amazing." She spoke it so softly that he was afraid he hadn't heard her correctly for a second, but then she nuzzled her head into his shoulder. He was content to let her rest there as they walked, saying nothing but enjoying one another's company, each of them wondering where this was going to take them.


	7. Reality Check

"Carrots, we're home!" Nick's cheerful voice took Judy's attention, and she hurried over to the front door where two foxes were entering the house, one being her husband, and one being a gray fox that nearly matched Nick's height, dressed in a slim black trench coat.

"Grayson!" she called excitedly, her features lighting up with joy. The gray fox next to Nick looked over at her, his ears perking up in recognition of her familiar voice.

"Hey, mom!" he said smiling, and he extended his arms so that he could pull her into a tight hug as she bounded over.

She squeezed him hard, and he patted her back as she stood there contentedly. "Oh, I've missed you so much!" she said, a smile etched onto her face as her oldest child held her. She took a step back, and placed her paws on her hips. "How are your classes going?"

He chuckled. "Classes are fine, I'm doing great in 'em. Man, it's been a while since Christmas, huh?" he remarked, referencing the last time that he'd been in town.

She sighed. "Don't keep us waiting so long for a visit next time!"

He nodded in agreement, and then spun around. "Where are Lucy and Pete?"

Suddenly, footsteps could be heard running down the steps energetically. "Grayson!" called Peter, the little rabbit making his way over to his big brother as his sister followed behind.

Grayson scooped him up easily, the difference in size all too apparent. "Hey little bro! How's it going?" He held one arm under Peter's arms and head to keep him in the air against his chest, and then used his free paw to ruffle Peter's ears noisily and messily. The little rabbit laughed in enjoyment.

He set Peter down as Lucy walked forward for a more conservative approach, extending her paw. "How's it going, Grayson?" she asked good-naturedly, attempting to seem as professional as possible in contrast to her younger brother's goofy antics. This did not last long, as Grayson gripped her paw and pulled her into a suffocating hug while he noogied her.

"Oh no, there won't be any _'I'm so mature'_ attitudes on my watch!" He laughed as she began to squeal and snort in a fit of giggling, her mask of adult-like behavior all but erased by the humor of her older brother. Finally, he released her.

Nick looked over at his Grayson. "Anything you want to do right now in particular?"

The gray fox nodded. "Yeah, if it's no trouble, I'd like to take a nap. I had to wake up super early to make it to the train station, and a lot of the processing in general was just stressful."

His father nodded, gesturing towards the hallway. "Yeah, feel free. Guest room again?"

"Guest room again," confirmed Grayson, as he walked down the hall to where blissful sleep awaited him.

Judy looked over at Peter and Lucy. "Why don't you two entertain yourselves for awhile until he wakes up?"

Peter nodded enthusiastically. "Is it alright if I go to the park? I'll be back soon, promise!"

Judy held her paw under her chin, thinking. "I don't mind, but I'd prefer if Lucy came with you."

The arctic fox groaned. "Why do I always have to watch him?"

"Oh, c'mon Lucy," Peter chastised, "you've got nothing going on. And the weather is awesome right now!"

She gave him a withering glare. "Fine."

"Be back in time for dinner!" called Judy as Peter hopped out the front door, Lucy trailing slightly less energetically behind him.

…

Both the fox and the rabbit reached the park in little time, considering it was only about a five minute walk.

"Wow, you were right. It _is_ nice out," Lucy commented, remarking on Peter's earlier testimony to the beautiful weather outside.

The little rabbit at her side looked up at her smugly. "You glad I got you to go, now?"

The white fox leveled her eyes with his. "Yeah, yeah. Don't push your luck."

Despite her nonchalant and snarky attitude, she was actually enjoying herself. She didn't mind getting out for some fresh air, and Peter was fun to hang around with; it was just part of her job as an older sister to pretend that she didn't care.

At the park was a nice green field that some kids used to throw frisbees or balls, though none occupied it right now. Then there was the play structure complete with pull-up bars, swings, balance beams, and random obstacles littered around. Peter knew he was older than the target audience, but he couldn't see how anyone could lose their love of playgrounds; even Lucy would hang out with her friends on them from time to time, and he saw nothing wrong with enjoying them.

Lucy looked over towards the shade structure, and her tail swished from side to side in sudden excitement. "Hey, I think that's Jeff and Will!" Peter looked over to where she was staring, looking for the respective snow leopard and oryx that he knew to be her best friends. He spotted them sitting on a bench, talking to one another about something.

"Hey, I'm gonna hang with them for a while, you cool with that?" she asked.

"Yeah, don't worry," he responded with a smile. He was fine by himself, he had more than enough entertainment available in the form of the playground and the field. One of the perks of being a rabbit was that he had tons of energy and simply running around was enough to placate him.

Lucy smirked, and then walked over to the other two as Peter bounded off by himself. She sat down next to Jeff as both he and Will turned to look at her.

"Well, look at who it is!" Jeff laughed. "I thought that it'd take nothing short of a miracle to get you out of your house on your own free will."

She grumbled, "Okay, technically I still didn't. He dragged me along," she said, pointing to her brother across the way. Will nodded with a grin on his face.

"Ah, I should have figured that it would be 'trigger-happy' over there that would force you outside." She narrowed her eyes at the oryx, but he wasn't intimidated. She shrugged.

"Your brother here yet?" Jeff asked, turning to her. She nodded.

"He just got here within the hour, but he's passed out; tired out from his day of traveling, so we came here to hang out until he wakes up." The snow leopard nodded, and turned back to look at Lucy's brother as he had fun on the playground.

"What were you guys talking about?" she asked. Will shrugged.

"Actually, we were talking about your brother."

Lucy raised an eyebrow. "Really? What about him?"

"You said that your parents are telling him their 'life-story' or whatever, right?"

She nodded, and the oryx continued; "Well, have they gotten to… the big issue yet?" She shook her head.

"Not yet. I'm not sure when they will," she revealed. Jeff sighed, taking over the conversation.

"I wonder how he'll handle it when it's explicitly told to him. He's a tough kid, your brother, and I think he pretty much knows already."

Her gaze snapped to the feline. "What do you mean?"

He shrugged; that seemed to be a popular action amongst both of her friends today. "I mean, he's about to be a freshman, there's no way he's gotten this far without incident. I know he's gotten bullied before at his school, and you know it too. Sure, he pretends like nothing's happened, but as kids get older, they start to lose that perspective of viewing the world with innocent eyes. They get mean, and I'd bet you anything that we both know what the reasons were for tormenting him."

Lucy hung her head slowly. "Yeah, I know. I've seen him come home with bruises more than once, always claiming that he just tripped or some stupid thing like that. I think you're right, he gets the gist of it; our parents are different. But I just don't think he understands why, or to what extent it's gone to before. He pretends like he doesn't get it to my parents, but he's smarter than he lets on."

Will snorted derisively at a particular revelation. "Seriously, bruises? Man, screw bullies. Picking on a little guy like your brother, he's never done anything wrong. Kid's as harmless and innocent as they come."

They sat there like that, watching the rabbit play by himself before Jeff turned to them both and said, "Hey, you two wanna see if anyone left a ball or something in the field? Might be able to actually do something other than just sitting here."

They murmured their agreement, and stood up from the bench. They set off towards the field, leaving Peter on his own until they returned.

Peter saw them leave, but he knew they'd be back; they were probably just looking for something to do. Maybe he'd join them in a bit, but he was doing fine for the moment by himself. Hopping off the rope bridge he'd been standing on to the bark down below, he walked over to the swing set nearby.

He selected one on the right-most side of the set, and hopped onto the swing without much difficulty. He extended his legs forward, shifting a bit of his weight in that direction, and then immediately forcing them backwards, causing it to swing back just a bit. He kept up the movement until he had a decent speed and pace, moving back and forth like a furry pendulum.

As he swung, he detected the sounds of laughter approaching, and he felt a weight drop in his stomach. Hoping that it was just a stranger passing by, he turned his head to see that had no such luck.

Making their way across the park were three kids, ones that he recognized from his school all too well; Harry, a young hyena, and his two stooges, Kyle and Cleft. Kyle was a weasel, and Cleft was a juvenile zebra. The three of them had… interacted with Peter on more than one occasion, and he wasn't really looking forward to another 'conversation'. He continued to swing as they came toward him, intent on ignoring them and avoiding an incident.

"Hey, Pete! It's great to see you!" called Harry, putting on facade of kindness as his buddies snickered behind him. Peter paid them no mind, and continued to swing. He wasn't going to be goaded into another fight; not only was Harry bigger than him, but he had two allies to help him. There was no way Peter could come out on top when it was three against one.

Harry placed his paws over his heart, pantomiming heartbreak. "Awww, you don't wanna talk to us?" Upon Peter continuing to ignore him, the hyena snorted. "Yeah, I bet you're too scared without your freaky sister to watch out for you."

Peter's eyes widened, but he still said nothing. Unfortunately, Harry caught the movement, and expanded upon that. "Did that bother you? What, did you think we came over here as soon as she left just by chance?" He snorted again. "Or was it the freaky comment?" He put on a mock expression of somberness. "You're right, I shouldn't have just labelled your sister as weird, it's not her; it's your whole family."

Peter couldn't help but look at Harry, who was now grinning. This time, he gave a huff of breath before retorting, "My family is not weird."

"Dude, your family is the very definition of weird," came Cleft's voice, adding his input to the mix. Kyle nodded, and chimed in with, "Yeah, I don't know in what world your parents are considered normal."

"They love each other, and that's all that's needed," replied the rabbit simply. Harry wasn't so convinced.

"Who cares what they call it, it's nothing short of effing weird if you ask me." Peter's ears were standing straight upon his head, barely moving as he sat on the swing in silence. No longer did he swing, but instead he just waited to see where this was going.

"I don't know how many times we gotta go over this Pete," he said in a condescending tone, taking advantage of Peter's nickname to seem more familiar, "but it just ain't right. Your dad's a fox, your mom's a bunny. A really dumb one too, to have chosen such a mammal for a mate."

Peter's hands were clenching tightly against the chains of the swing as he took the jab against his dad. Harry chuckled. "Not only are they different species completely, but he's a pred, and she's prey. Sooner or later, I'll bet he ends up eating her!" He guffawed loudly, the other two following his example.

"And even if he doesn't," continued Harry, wiping a tear of laughter from his eye, "it still won't end well. His fox instincts will kick in sooner or later, and he'll probably walk out on all of you. Everyone knows foxes are no good, you can't expect any of their shifty kind to do anything good for society."

Peter growled angrily, "My dad is a police officer; his entire job is nothing but helping people."

"Yeah, but what do you think he did before that?" Harry shrugged. "I'm telling you, I can guarantee he was a con-mammal or criminal before he was a cop, right?" Peter remembered the first thing his mom had told him when she agreed to tell him the story of her and his dad; how his dad had swindled her in a popsicle scam, leaving her depressed and broken down. He said nothing, but Harry saw the brief flicker of fear in the rabbit's eyes; fear that the hyena had been right, at least on one account.

"See? I'm right, aren't I?" Harry sneered. "And it goes without saying that they don't really love you or your siblings; you're not their real kids, they can't have any on their own. You all are nothing more than a replacement for what they couldn't have. You think that if they'd been able to have any, that they'd have adopted any of you?"

Those words stung; technically, they were right. Would his mom and dad have adopted him if they could conceive on their own? Probably not, and that put the rabbit on edge a bit.

"And you know what they say about apples not falling far from the tree." Apparently, the hyena had still not finished taunting. "I bet you and your sister turn out to be freaks just like them. God, the very thought disgusts me." He stopped talking for a moment to observe Peter; he was definitely angry, but the rabbit hadn't quite snapped yet to his disappointment. He thought up a few more slurs to hopefully be the straw that broke the camel's back.

"Or maybe your mom just ended up with him because she was desperate. Who would want a dumb bunny like her, anyway? She's just some stupid carrot-farming hick who wanted out of her miserable life, no wonder she'd have to settle for a crook like a fox." He laughed hysterically again. "Oh, the irony! Dumb bunny cop settling for a shifty fox crook as a mate. That's gold, it really is."

"At least I know my parents did something right with me; I didn't turn into an asshole like you." Peter was a bit unsure about adding the expletive in there, but Harry had pushed him long enough. The hyena narrowed his eyes.

"No matter what way you look at it Pete, it's disgusting." He began to count on his fingers, ticking off Peter's family members; "There's your parents, revolting freaks who went against nature. There's you, the reject that was only adopted by the couple who couldn't have a kid on their own; and then there's your brother and sister. Both foxes; I bet that your brother isn't really going to college, that he's just learning to be a con-mammal like his dad, and who's to say that your sister won't end up the same way? Untrustworthy, all of them. Not to mention that she's already a huge bitch to begin with, let me tell you-"

Before he'd finished the sentence, Peter had launched at the hyena. He knocked him to the ground, and then let his little furry fists fly. Unfortunately, the shock of the attack only lasted for a second or two before Kyle and Cleft grabbed him, and pulled him off. Harry got up, and shoved Peter to the ground. The rabbit tumbled, and immediately turned tail, realizing his mistake in attempting to fight. His running didn't get him very far before Kyle had quickly run and tackled him to the pavement.

Harry and Cleft came a moment later, letting loose with kicks and punches all around. Peter lashed out with his feet and landed a solid blow on Cleft, causing the zebra to hunch over in pain. Harry retaliated for his injured toadie by planting a kick directly in Peter's abdomen. Peter curled around himself, unable to defend himself any longer for the pain he was experiencing. They took the advantage they had to rain blows upon him while he was vulnerable.

"You're nothing but a dumb bunny, just like your stupid mom!" yelled Harry as he sent yet another kick flying into Peter's side.

Suddenly, they heard a furious snarl, and they stopped their attack for a moment to see the source of the noise. A white paw came in between Peter and his attackers, and batted them aside. They fell to the ground, and began to push themselves back up onto their feet as a lithe form leapt in front of Peter defensively.

Lucy's fur was standing on end, and she was on all fours, baring her teeth and growling harshly at the three bullies. Those blue eyes of hers were were sparking with volumes of ferocity towards the three that had hurt her brother. They may have been alright with picking on a poor defenseless rabbit when it was three on one, but they weren't about to tangle with his sister; regardless of what they called her, she was still bigger than them, and would make short work of them. Harry and the other two turned tail and ran away from the snapping maw of Lucy and the fury that was ever apparent on her face.

Once they'd disappeared from sight, Lucy stopped snarling and stood back up on her legs. She turned around and knelt down to examine Peter. Her face no longer held the furious expression that the bullies had seen, but instead was filled with worry and sympathy. "Are you alright, Pete?" Her voice was out of pitch, slightly hysterical from the shock of the situation.

The rabbit nodded slowly, not trusting himself to say anything lest he break down. A safe distance away were Jake and Will, watching the spectacle before them. Both of them held similar facial expressions to his sister, empathetic towards the rabbit's plight.

"Why did you get in a fight with them? There were three of them against you!" she cried, thoughts of what more could have happened if she hadn't come back in time flitting through her mind. Peter sniffled. She narrowed her eyes. "Look, I saw it firsthand; you can't say now that you fell down or whatever to get these cuts and bruises!" she exclaimed, gesturing to his body, and Peter knew that he couldn't hide anything this time.

"They kept insulting mom and dad, our whole family. I tried to put up with it, I really did. But then they called you a bitch, and I just…" Lucy was stunned; she'd expected them to attack her family… but he'd only retaliated because they insulted her? Her face lost its harshness, and she smiled sadly at him.

Lucy picked him up, and set him on her shoulders to carry him. She may have only been four years older, but their difference in size allowed for her to do things like this. "Hey guys, I'm gonna take him home, alright? Try to get him cleaned up and taken care of."

Both nodded in understanding. "Yeah, I hear you. Feel better, little buddy," called Jake, waving a large silver paw in Peter's direction. Peter waved back sadly, and let his sister carry him home.

…

Judy heard the front door opening while she was walking over to the kitchen, and immediately backtracked to greet Lucy and Peter as they entered. She put a smile on her face as she saw her two youngest children enter, but it quickly fell when she saw their somber expressions.

"Are you two alright? What happ-" The question died in her throat as she looked up and saw Peter with a black eye among other things that adorned his small form; bruises and cuts all around. "Oh my God!"

Lucy bent down so that Judy could reach up and pluck Peter from off her back. "Who did this to you?! How bad is it?" She began firing off questions with the speed of a machine gun, her motherly instincts kicking in to protect her child.

"I caught three other kids attacking him," supplied Lucy. "I came running as soon as I could, but they'd already done enough at that point. Scared them off as well as I could without hurting them; I can't be outright attacking younger kids, regardless of how much they deserved it."

Judy looked into her son's eyes, wishing he would speak. "Why did they attack you, Peter? Do you know?"

He nodded.

"Well, why? What made them do this?"

He shook his head, trying to stop her from asking. She was undeterred.

"I need to know, Peter. Talk to me." A sinking feeling was manifesting within her, as she began to form an idea of what had transpired.

Peter sniffed sadly. "I tried to hit them."

The bunny was taken aback; he'd tried to make the first move? That didn't sound like Peter at all. "And why would you do something like that?"

He wiped a tear away from his eye before it could properly fall. "Because they were insulting our family. They called all of you freaks."

And that was all she needed. It had happened.

Her fears had been realized.

How long she'd hoped that Peter wouldn't have to go through the same thing that Lucy and Grayson had gone through… but ignorance and cruelty was all too prevalent amongst kids, and they apparently had no indication of changing anytime soon.

"Why do people hate you and dad so much?" she heard him ask, his voice wavering and unstable. She sighed inwardly; she knew that she'd have to explain about this part of life sooner or later, but she'd hoped it would have been under different circumstances. She looked her son in the eyes.

"Alright, Peter. I think it's time for us to tell you."


	8. Revelations

Before Judy could begin, Grayson and Nick came into view.

"What's going on?" asked Nick seriously. Then he spotted the face of his youngest kid. "Whoa! Are you alright?!"

Peter nodded slowly to show his dad he was fine, but the fox came over anyway to examine the damage. "Got a real shiner here, huh?" he commented, looking at the black eye Peter had obtained. "Who did this to you?"

"Some kids from his school apparently," interjected Judy, her voice betraying how broken she felt inside. Nick couldn't blame her; after going through the same ordeal with the first two kids, she'd been hoping things would be different. Instead, three for three kids had now come home in scrapes and bruises. Nick had a good idea as to why.

"Is it that time?" asked Grayson, sounding more resigned to the situation than anything. Nick nodded sadly. Grayson sighed.

"Alright, I got this." The gray fox walked over to Peter and knelt down next to him. "I get that you might not want to talk about this with everyone; the good news is that I'm not everyone. Let's just you and I have a talk, alright?"

Peter looked into his brother's face and saw nothing but sincerity. He knew that Grayson would handle everything right, so he nodded his agreement. A sad smile appeared on the fox's muzzle. "Okay then. Let's go."

…

"Okay," started Grayson, closing the guest room door behind him and Peter, "let's start from the top. What happened?"

Peter told him about Harry and his goons, how they and other kids had bullied him before at school in the last few years. He explained how he kept all of it from their parents, stating that he didn't want them to worry about him. Grayson listened to it all with an attentive ear, refraining from interrupting for the duration that Peter spoke.

"I just don't get it," the rabbit finished dejectedly. "Why do people hate mom and dad so much? What is so wrong about them loving each other?"

Grayson pursed his lips. "That's a tough one. Some people claim it's wrong, others think it's disgusting… here we go, I think I've got a good way of putting it."

He sat down on the bed, and pulled Peter onto his knee. "You know how when you find something new, you don't know how to react to it? Because you've never seen it before?" Peter raised an eyebrow curiously, but nodded all the same.

"Well, it's the same thing here. We've lived with mom and dad all of our lives; we know them, we're used to them." The fox sighed exasperatedly. "But others haven't; they see something that they don't fully understand, and that scares them. So they treat it as though it's dangerous, at least until it's proven otherwise. But they also don't give it a chance to show that it's safe, so they keep thinking it's wrong and frightening." He looked into his little brother's eyes. "Does that make sense?"

Now that Grayson had put it that way, Peter _did_ get it. "But that doesn't make it right!" he argued. Grayson laughed.

"No, it doesn't. But that's how the world works right now, buddy." He ruffled Peter's ears. "One day, I think they'll see. I think everyone will come to terms with it. But until then, it's just something that we have to deal with. The best thing you can do is to let it all roll off of you. Don't take any of their words to heart; because we know the truth about mom and dad, and they don't have a clue. Alright?"

Peter reluctantly nodded. "Good. Now, let's go join the rest of the family."

…

Peter sat on the couch across from the one his parents were sitting on. Lucy was next to him as a source of comfort, and Grayson was sitting back in a recliner nearby. The moment for Peter's 'indoctrination' of sorts had finally arrived.

"Well, as I said earlier," began Judy, "I think it's time we talked about… _it_ with you."

"Do you mean the discrimination?" asked Peter. Judy's face twitched slightly.

"… Yes."

"Grayson already told me why most mammals don't like you two." Peter looked down at his hands. "Have you had to deal with this all this time?"

Nick took over. "Well, it's not nearly as bad as it was years ago, before we had you three; but as you saw with that sheep in the ice cream shop, yeah. Sometimes it comes back to bite us." He grimaced. "Seems like it came back to bite you this time instead."

Judy nodded. "I suppose the only thing we knew was that despite it all, it was worth it. Being together, even if it meant facing the opposing views of the world, was worth it. That was probably the one thing that kept us going."

"I don't see how much worse it could get," muttered Peter.

Nick laughed mirthlessly. "Oh, buddy… you'd be surprised."

* * *

Nick sat back down, setting the second coffee cup he held in his hand over on the opposite side of their little table for two. "There you go, Carrots; the finest coffee that Tundratown has to offer."

The bunny sitting across from him held the cup up to her nose, and inhaled deeply. He felt a warm feeling inside him as he watched a smile bloom across her face. "Mmmm, it smells heavenly!"

"I'm sure it does, but I don't think you're supposed to just sniff the drink," he joked. She rolled her eyes at him, and tasted it. "Wow, I guess smell really is only half the taste- this is awesome!"

"Figured you'd like it," the fox said grinning. For today's outing, he'd decided to take her to a little café he used to go to when he and Finnick were still running their partnership. It wasn't anything special based on its outer appearance; but as the saying went, it's the inside that counts. Or in this case, the quality of the actual products.

Her eyes flashed at him flirtingly, giving him the same half-lidded look that he gave her sometimes. "Well, sly fox, you figured right."

To be truthful, Nick had chosen carefully; he loved this place, but it was also because of its bustling business that he'd picked it. You could get lost in here, stray from the crowd. No one would be the wiser; especially not to a fox and bunny couple.

He tried to keep that thought out of his mind as they spent the next few minutes enjoying one another's company contentedly. He didn't want this day to be ruined at all; he and Carrots had been careful, but there had been several… incidents, in the last few months. They hadn't come out about their relationship yet, but rumors had spread; they were pretty much the face of the ZPD, constantly in the spotlight. It was bound to happen sooner or later, where someone noticed just how close they'd become over the course of their friendship. And every now and then, something happened; something that would put a hiccup in their relationship.

Why couldn't people just accept it and move on? Why did they have to-

"Nick?"

He shook his head, focusing back on Judy. "What's up Carrots?"

She tilted her head confusedly. "I just asked if you wanna take a walk?"

"I'm not gonna argue with that." Besides, maybe the cold air would cool his mind a bit.

…

"Can it do anything?"

"Oh yes," Judy agreed easily, "definitely. Sometimes it even _explodes_ , if you can believe that."

Nick caught the subtle hint she'd unwittingly left when she'd said that particular word. "Is it a person?"

 _Dammit_ , she thought. _He's too good._ "Yes…" she admitted reluctantly.

"Is it Bogo?"

She huffed loudly. "How are you so good at this game?! You've won every time we play!"

The fox smirked. "I used to be a con, Carrots; I hustled mammals on a daily basis. Playing twenty questions is a piece of cake."

She returned his sly smile. "Well okay then, Mr. Confident. Let's see if you can-"

Suddenly, her eyes widened. "DUCK!"

"What?" he asked confusedly.

SMASH!

The sound of glass breaking against his skull was only one of several sensations Nick experienced in the following moment. He clutched at the back of his head where he felt small shards that were tangled up in the loose strands of his fur. He turned around to see several mammals standing aways away, all of them equipped with throwable objects.

"Nick, are you alright?!" Judy exclaimed, her voice hysterical. She tried to examine the wound on his head, but he stopped her before she could.

"Come here!" he growled, and he pulled her into a tight bear hug, using his body to shield her from the attacks. Rocks came whizzing by, and she heard him cry out in pain more than once as some of them found their mark with stinging impacts.

"Get outta here, ya freaks!" she heard one of the attackers shout. Nick said nothing in response, but from the expression on his face she could tell that the insult hurt worse than the rocks did.

The assault only lasted a few seconds or so before the mammals took off, but Judy knew that the damage had been done. Nick had cuts and bruises all over his back from rocks and glass that had sliced through his clothing. Broken pieces of bottles and small rocks were scattered all around on the ground, indented in the snow.

But Judy knew her best friend; and that expression he was making let her know that the real damage had been inside. He'd already been rejected as a kid in the ranger scouts for what he was. Now, he was being rejected by society simply for who he loved… her. A bunny, a prey, the polar opposite of a fox like him.

Call it logic, call it intuition, or instinct; but she knew that there were going to be dark times ahead for both of them.

* * *

 _A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it's been a while since the last update. Had a lot of things going on; I've got 2 other books which I'm writing, one of which is an original I'm actually working on getting published. I'm trying to maintain my YouTube channel, and on top of all that I've got college to worry about. I've also just moved out of my old house because of inhospitable living conditions, so I'm trying to get accustomed to the place I'm staying at right now. Bear with me please, and remember to follow, favorite, and review!_

 _-Matteoarts_


	9. Hunting a Fox

_Ugh._

Judy wiped the sleep out of her eyes. She was usually one for waking up early, chipper to start the day, but not this morning. She'd spent last night wide awake for hours, thinking over the stress that continued to seem like it would overtake her entire life.

The last few months had been hectic, to say the least. She and Nick had gone ahead and made their relationship known to friends and family; while some had reacted rather extremely at first (the most notable of which being her father), they'd accepted the idea and made supporting Judy their top concern. The most important person to tell, of course, had been Bogo; fortunately, it appeared that the water buffalo cared very little about most things, and that lack of opinion stretched towards their relationship so long as it didn't interfere with their partnership or police work.

She was glad to say that for the most part, she had a wide array of supporters and individuals ready to come to her defense about her decision.

Unfortunately, Nick did not.

They'd been dating for nearly seven months now, and they'd been public about it for three. They had hoped that the bigotry would eventually die off if they ignored the hateful comments for the most part, but they'd been very wrong. Incidents like that attack in Tundratown had occurred in increasing frequency since they'd gone public about it, though now the ZPD was aware of the situation and were ready to respond if necessary; not really to make a stance on the issue, but purely because those kinds of attacks were illegal, regardless of any views ZPD officers had.

Both Judy and Nick had received their fair share of hate, scuffs, and bruises, but Judy at least had family to talk to, friends to pour out her feelings to. Nick had none of that.

To start off, he already had a lot of defense mechanisms in place, and was very reluctant to share his feelings with anyone, even her. To make matters worse, he didn't have anyone but her to talk about it with even if he wanted to. He hadn't connected with his family in many years, as far as she knew. So that meant that he felt very alone when it came to relieving his stress and dealing with all of the hate spewed upon them.

In the last few weeks, she'd noticed him getting more and more distant, and it worried her. She was losing sleep over concern for her fox, hoping he was okay. As she dressed for work, she resolved in her mind to talk things over with him; even if he were to deny that he needed it, at the very least he would know that she was willing to share his torment.

A slight ray of hope shining in her heart from the thought, she opened her apartment door and left for the coffee place they met at every morning.

…

 _46 minutes._

Judy tried to suppress the worm of discomfort in her gut. It was getting a little difficult to do however, when Nick was running 46 minutes late. First, he'd failed to meet her at the café. Then, he hadn't answered any of her texts asking where he was, or whether he would be coming. Eventually she'd decided that she was going to be late for work if she didn't leave and get to the precinct.

Finally, he was now late to work. Bogo had already handed out the morning assignments, and hadn't seemed to take notice of the missing fox. She had been given a boring desk job today, but she couldn't stop being anxious long enough to focus on the objective at hand.

 _47 minutes._

She couldn't take it anymore. Pushing her chair away from the manilla envelopes strewn about on her desk, she briskly marched towards Bogo's office on the second floor.

…

Upon reaching it, she was glad to find that he was not occupied at the moment with anyone else. As casually as she could, she knocked on the door and waited until she heard a gruff, "Come in."

Pushing the door ajar, she walked inside to hear him remark on her, "Of course. I was wondering when you'd-"

She didn't give him a chance to explain as she immediately released a barrage of slightly hysteric concerns; _"Sir, I'm worried about my partner; he didn't show up for coffee, and now he's not showing up for work, and he's 52 minutes late, and he won't answer my texts, and it's just been really stressful recently, and please I just don't know what's going on, and I hope he's okay because I don't want another attack to have happened-"_

He held up one hand to silence her. "Hopps."

She ceased her tirade, and tried to catch her breath from speaking so fast. Bogo just looked knowingly at her.

"Officer Wilde is fine. He just came in early this morning to talk to me."

She breathed a sigh of relief. Her fox was okay.

"He came in to hand in his resignation from the force."

With those words, her breathing stopped again.

"He- _what?!"_ she stammered. "Why?!"

Bogo grunted. "I didn't grant it of course; instead, I've given him one week of paid vacation. I figured that this was not a very well thought out decision. But if he doesn't return by the end of that period, then I can't do much."

She felt like someone's fist was inside her, squeezing her chest until she couldn't breathe. She tried to think of anything to say, anything to do, but her mind kept coming up blank. Why would Nick try to resign? He loved his job, loved being seen as something more than just a fox for once in his life. There was only one reason that he'd seriously think about doing something so drastic, and she didn't want to open that can of worms just yet.

"I remember telling you that I would permit you two to have your… unorthodox relationship if it didn't interfere with your police work. Correct?" The buffalo was giving her a stern look, and she nodded glumly. "Glad we're on the same page. Now, as far as I'm concerned, you two have been just as efficient as ever these last few months; definitely much more than it would require for me to enforce anything."

She lifted her head hopefully at him as he gave a long sigh. "So, this event is troubling me to say the least. It's certainly not like Wilde to suddenly get up and quit. I can only assume that this has to do with the two of you, but as it's the first time it's caused me to take notice, I'm willing to overlook it."

He turned back towards the documents on his desk. "I'm putting you on vacation time as well, Hopps. One week."

"Sir?"

"I'll have someone come to your desk and take over your assignment." He met her eyes again. "My job is to take care of the officers under my charge; and right now, that means you and Wilde. You're both too valuable to the ZPD to lose. We need that fox back, and I think you're the one that needs to tell him that." He nodded toward the door. "Go."

She left without a backwards glance. She'd never thought that Bogo would approve of something like that, but apparently he had a bigger heart than she'd thought. When she was done with all this, she'd come back and thank him for that. But for now, she had a fox to track down.

…

With a piece of paper in one hand, she walked up the steps to an apartment building in downtown. She checked the address on the sheet of paper and compared it to the number on the building. 1955 Cypress Grove lane. This was the place alright.

Of all the places that she and Nick had been, he'd never actually taken her to his place. He always came up with some excuse or reason for them not to go. It had weirded her out a bit, but if he didn't want to show her his home, then that was his decision. What she could never figure out was why. Looking at it now, she saw that it wasn't the highest quality apartment building, but it wasn't anything to have been ashamed of. She opened the door, and looked around to find the lobby.

Spying a large counter area over to the left, she made her way over and looked up to where the counter towered over her small stature. On shift was a whitetail deer, concentrating on something that Judy couldn't see.

"Excuse me!"

The doe swiveled her head around to find the source of the voice, until she looked down and saw Judy.

"Oh, hello! Officer Hopps, what a surprise! What can I help you with ma'am?"

Judy had forgotten that many more people would know her now with the word of her controversial relationship spreading throughout the city. She definitely seemed nice enough. Judy decided to cut straight to the chase; "I'm looking for a friend of mine who resides at this residence."

The doe nodded. "Alright, well let me look at the roster of tenants. What's their name?"

"Nick Wilde."

"Really? Officer Wilde? You'd think I'd have known he was living here, but I suppose a few things must elude me every now and then…" Suddenly, she raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Unfortunately, it seems that now is not one of those times. Nick Wilde is not listed as a resident here at all."

"What? But he has this place listed as his address!" This didn't make any sense. It was right there on his tax forms, and he couldn't have lied about that; he would have needed a mailing address to even send the forms in the first place…

She tried one last thing. "Could you check something else then? Seeing as he doesn't live here, is it possible that he only has this listed as a mailing address?"

The doe nodded. "That is possible; every so often, we have people who pay a small fee to own a mailbox here." She looked through another roster, and this time gave a small, "Ah!"

"You found him?"

She nodded. "It appears that Mr. Wilde does indeed have a mailbox here, which be why we're listed as his mailing address. Unfortunately, that's about all I can give you, I'm afraid."

Judy sighed dejectedly. This was all so confusing. This explained why he'd never take her here, but then where did he really live? She'd solved one mystery, and taken on another.

She waved slightly at the doe. "That's alright. Thanks for your time, ma'am."

"No problem."

Right as Judy was about to walk out, she heard the doe call, "Officer Hopps?"

She turned to see the deer giving her a kind smile.

"I just wanted you to know that not everyone who hears about your personal affairs is against you. I wish you and Officer Wilde all the best in the future."

That ray of hope from earlier had returned a little stronger this time. "Thank you so much, ma'am. You have no idea how much I appreciate it."

With that, she took her leave and stepped back onto the sidewalk.

Now she had another task; to figure out where Nick had gone if this wasn't his home. She remembered the first time that she'd needed to find Nick, during the Night Howler case. She'd gone to his friend Finnick for help, and the fennec fox had told her about Nick's bridge, his spot of isolation. Could he be there again?

She shrugged internally. It was worth a shot, anyway. It was the closest thing she had to a lead at this point.

Half an hour later, she was on a bus heading toward the city limits. If this was what it was going to take to get her partner back, then so be it.

But she was going to get him back.


	10. Ultimatum

It had been a long time since Judy had walked across this bridge. Nearly two years, in fact. She remembered how lonely she had felt after Nick had abandoned her the first time, and how that feeling had returned after he was forced to spend several months in the academy. She hoped that those emotions wouldn't come back for a third round.

With a deep breath, she peered over the side of the guard-ledge. She hadn't actually expected to succeed on her first try, and in such a predictable location. But to her utter astonishment, there he was; sitting there in the open, not even attempting to hide. Just sitting in that stupid chair of his, wearing plainclothes.

She hopped over the side of the bridge, and ran over to his side. He obviously saw her, but he chose to let her speak first.

"What the hell are you thinking with this resignation nonsense?!" she growled. Nick raised an eyebrow.

"Never heard a bunny growl before. That's a new one from you."

She shook her head, refusing to be led astray from the topic. "Don't try to talk your way around this. I want to know why you're even considering this. Did you think I wouldn't chase you down if you did?"

He sighed deeply. "No, I actually hoped you _would_. Which is why I decided to be in the most obvious place I could be. How else would you find me?"

She froze. That sent a few chills running up her spine. "Wait, you wanted me to find you?"

"Yeah."

She tilted her head. "That's a new one."

"Well, first time for everything right? Besides, I needed you to understand."

Her breath caught. Anxiety was beginning to crawl through her. "Understand _what_?"

"Better to show you then just talk." He stood up and walked a few paces. "How many times have we been ridiculed in the past few months? How many times have we been attacked, spit upon, disrespected all because of our relationship?"

She shook her head again. "I already told you- I don't care! I thought we agreed it wouldn't get to us?"

"It doesn't get to me, believe me. And it may not get to you either, or you might just hide it well. But what about your reputation? Your career?" He kept waving his paws around as he talked, emphasizing his points. "It hurts me so much to see how you're treated. When a rock catches you in the arm, and you just turn and smile at me; it tears me up inside, Carrots!"

"But we can get through it! We've gotten through everything else together, why is this any differ-"

"We can't."

She stopped speaking immediately, taken aback. "What do you mean?"

"There's no hope for a relationship like ours."

She just looked down. "I can't believe you would say that; after everything you told me about how a fox and bunny could work, and now-"

He shook his head vigorously, surprising her. "I'm not even talking about the interspecies thing. Maybe it would work with another fox, a better fox; just not me."

She narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Have you looked around recently?"

She took another glance at her surroundings. A bridge on the outskirts of the city with a few abandoned warehouses nearby.

"Yep. Hasn't changed much in the last few minutes."

He rolled his eyes. "I meant the location itself. You ever stop to think why Finnick knew where to direct you when you were looking for me during the Night Howler case?"

She saw what he was saying. Now that he mentioned it, it did strike her as a bit odd. "What about it?"

"I live here, Carrots."

Her eyes grew wide. "What?"

He shrugged. "Or maybe not in this exact spot, per say. I've actually got an old mattress and some other abandoned furniture in one of those warehouses over there. So, I'm not entirely homeless." He said it with such a humorous tone, but what he was saying broke her heart.

"You… you live here?"

He nodded. "That's what I'm telling you. Why do you think I take the buses everywhere, or ask you to drive me? Why I have a mailing address in the city, but not an apartment? It just feels better to have something with your name on it, you know? Something that acknowledges you exist."

She understood the feeling; how she'd tried so hard when she'd trained at the academy, and even that first week or so at the precinct. How everyone seemed to look down on you, sometimes to the point of not even noticing you were there. It was always said that the opposite of love isn't hate; it's apathy. At least with hate, you have to at least care enough to waste time on them. With apathy, it meant that someone didn't even feel a need to spend any thoughts about you.

He continued; "Look at me; I'm a homeless fox living in a warehouse. Thank god it's actually a warehouse and not under the bridge, that'd be too cliché. But you see my point; how would any relationship work between us? Facing oppression everywhere we go, unable to support ourselves- I mean, my god Judy!" He gestured at both of them. "You live in an apartment the size of a closet, and I have a mattress! Where would our relationship go? How could I support a family when I can't even support myself, let a lone a wife and kids…" He had to stop talking because she could hear a lump in his throat, and she knew he didn't want to show weakness in front of her.

She stepped closer to him. "You've thought about starting a family?"

He snorted. "I don't know… I'm just lost right now."

They sat there in silence for a few minutes.

She cleared her throat. "You know… I had my own doubts when we first started. Wondering some of the same things you're wondering." She looked up at him. "But I pushed past them because I knew what my heart wanted."

She grabbed his paw with her own. "I know it sounds hard. I know it's a lot easier to give up, and try to resign so that we're not around each other anymore." She gave him a slight smile. "But I know we can beat the odds together. It may not seem like it, but you and I are one of a kind. I just know we can."

He sighed. "That's gonna be the toughest battle of our lives."

More silence.

"Move in with me."

Nick's eyes grew as wide as dinner plates, and his head snapped towards her. "What?!"

She shrugged. "I know you just said that it's the size of a closet-"

He scoffed, "I was being generous."

"- but it's still better than your current living arrangements, and it can accommodate two mammals of our size. From what I hear, you only need to move your clothes in, and you'd be pretty much set. We can split the rent, and save the extra money we're making for later so that we can get a bigger place."

He seemed speechless, and just found himself gazing into those beautiful purple eyes of hers. She grinned warmly.

"You're right, this is gonna be the toughest battle of our lives." She held up their intertwined paws. "That said, I'm still willing to fight it with you. You just need to tell me if the feeling is reciprocated."

One final silence.

"I love you, Judy."

"I love you too."

* * *

 _A/N: Hey guys! University has finally started, so I wanted to get this out there before I found myself too swarmed with homework and studies to have time for it. Might be a while until the next update, but hopefully this will tide you over until then! As always, review and favorite!_


	11. Popping the Question

"Wow." Little Peter didn't really know what else to say to the story that his parents had just told him.

"Yep. Been through thick and thin, and even thinner," Nick remarked with a slight smile on his face. He looked over to Judy, where she was openly smiling right back to him. Then she turned back to look at her son.

"Life was undeniably hard on us many times, sometimes it even felt like the _majority_ of the time." She shook her head slightly. "But I don't regret any second of any of that pain; it's because we lasted through it that we have you, Lucy, and Grayson with us today. And I wouldn't trade any of you kids for the world."

Peter could see his mom's lower lip starting to tremble a little bit, and he knew how emotional she could get. Hopping down from his chair he walked over to her and leapt into her arms where she hugged him tightly.

"We love you Peter, and don't you ever forget it," she said softly, and Peter spotted his dad give an agreeing nod. There wasn't anything that hadn't been said already, so Nick remained silent.

Once it seemed like everything was in a stable enough place, Grayson gave a small chuckle. "Man, if I'd known you wanted stories about mom and dad's life, I would have told you about how he proposed to her. I still laugh about that one"

Peter's ears shot straight up, and he turned towards his brother. "Really? He proposed to her?"

Nick raised an eyebrow. "Why do you sound so surprised?"

His son shrugged. "Well, I guess I always just assumed that mom proposed, since she's the boss of you two." Nick was about to protest that she was definitely _not_ the boss of him, but he caught one sly glance from his wife, and shut his mouth. Who was he kidding, of course she was.

"That's what I thought," she muttered jokingly.

That aside, Peter looked at his brother again. "So can you?"

Grayson grinned. "You're gonna like this one."

* * *

Nick looked around ,their (rather small) apartment, which he'd finished cleaning nearly twenty minutes ago. The movie had been placed in the TV opposite of the length side of the bed, the popcorn was cooked and ready to eat in a bowl he'd poured it into, and the little secret he'd hidden in it was just waiting to be seen.

Tonight was the night.

He'd used up one of his vacation days he'd gotten from work just to prepare all this. He and Judy had been together long enough now, they'd been stable on their own for nearly a year, and he'd made up his mind. No more running away, no more trying to escape. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with that bunny.

He heard a key in the lock of the door, and smiled. That would be Judy coming home from work.

With a creak, the door opened and his favorite bunny walked through, a smile on her face at seeing the preparations he'd made. "Wow, this looks nice! Who are you, and what have you done with Nick Wilde?"

He rolled his eyes at her. "Very funny, Carrots. Y'know, I did have to live on my own for a few years. It's not like I don't know how to clean up a place."

She smirked, and began to change out of her clothes. He averted his eyes to be polite, but it's not like they hadn't seen each other before. It was just a matter of courtesy.

After a minute or so, she'd changed into some more casual clothes she'd grabbed from the dresser. "Alright, so what's the movie?"

"Reservoir Dogs."

She gave a small chuckle. "I thought you didn't like cop movies."

"Technically, there's only two cops in it; the focus is on the crime lords," he said, winking at her, "which you know I happen to have experience with."

"Well, you got me there. Put it on."

They sat on her bed, eating popcorn and watching the story unfold on the TV screen. He looked over at her while he shoveled another handful of popcorn into his mouth. Any minute now, she'd find the ring in the popcorn bowl and stare at him in utter astonishment. He couldn't wait to see the look on her face when those adorable purple eyes looked to him to see if it was really happening-

Something foreign entered his throat, and he began to choke loudly. Judy looked at him worriedly. "Are you okay?!"

He felt something hard and metallic stuck in his esophagus, and he knew exactly what had happened.

He was choking on the ring.

He motioned to his throat, indicating his predicament. She scrambled out of the bed, and moved behind him to assist. "Don't worry, I've got you!"

She began to (embarrassingly) perform the Heimlich maneuver, and after several good slams into his stomach, the ring came flying out of his mouth and landed on the floor.

"Maybe don't eat so fast next time, huh Slick?" she said with a smirk. Then she looked over to what had landed on the floor, and it almost looked like she'd stopped breathing.

"Is… is that…" She couldn't finish her sentence.

Nick walked over to his, massaging his throat, and then moved over to the sink where he rinsed it off.

"Well, I had a great plan and everything," he called over his shoulder, "but things never seem to pan out for me in that regard. I guess I wasn't paying attention to what I was eating."

The ring now clean, he walked back over to Judy. "Now that we've officially got an embarrassing story to tell people later on when they ask us, I'd like to do what I've wanted to do for quite a while."

He knelt down on one knee.

"Carrots, you found me as a broken fox, ready to give up on the world and any idea that there was good in it." He smiled. "I'm so glad you did, because the last few years I've spent with you have been the best years I've ever had, and I wouldn't trade one second of it for anything else."

He held out the ring. Her eyes followed his hand.

"Judith Laverne Hopps, will you marry me?"

There was only a single moment of silence as Judy's mind processed this new information before she leapt into him, wrapping him in as large a hug as she could manage. "Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!" Her words were pouring out of her mouth with the speed of a race car, and tears of joy were just visible in her eyes. He hugged her back; he knew that she would say yes, but that didn't diminish the moment in any way.

Suddenly, she froze. "How do you know my middle name?"

He grinned. "Had to call up your mom to find out. No wonder you kept it from me for so long; _Laverne_ , really?"

She swore.

* * *

 _A/N: College is a time killer. Wanted to get this out for a while, sorry it's so short. Hoping to wrap this story up soon, until the next time!_

 _-Matteoarts_


	12. A New Life

"Quit fussing with your fur, man!"

Nick looked down at the much shorter fox next to him. "Easy for you to say, you won't ever be dealing with what I am right now." He continued to try and pat down a small tuft of his fur on the top of his head that stuck up a bit.

Finnick chuckled. "A few years ago, I probably would have said the same about you." He looked Nick up and down, ignoring what the other fox thought of himself in the mirror. "You look fine."

"Really?" Nick looked into the mirror and adjusted his bow tie again, unknowingly setting it slightly off-center. "I guess this is as good as it's gonna get anyway. Might as well stop obsessing about it."

Finnick nodded, internally breathing a sigh of relief that they wouldn't be stuck here any longer. "That's what I've been telling you, now let's get go. The bride ain't getting any younger."

…

"Oh, you look gorgeous sweetie!"

The small shrew next to Judy gazed up at her with admiring eyes, and delivered compliments with that high pitched falsetto voice of hers.

Meanwhile, Judy just stared in the mirror and became more self-conscious with every passing second. "Do you really think so? Because I could change, right? This isn't a bad outfit, right? Maybe I should just-"

Fur Fru held up her tiny paws to stop Judy. "You look _great,_ Judy. Trust me, he's gonna be floored!"

Instead of the usual wedding dress every bride wore, what with their lace and extravagant flowing fabric, Judy had chosen something much more moderate to suit her personality. It was a simple white matte dress with small amounts of lace for the shoulders. She had been nervous about temporarily exchanging her usually blunt temperament for something more feminine, so this had been the compromise.

She looked in the mirror, minding Fru Fru's words. "Oh, I'm just so nervous. I've never really-"

"-done anything like this?" the Shrew finished playfully. "No girl has, until the day arrives. You especially since your career is much more … well, unusual compared to others. But you'll do fine, and you look beautiful! I promise!"

The bunny smiled at her encouragement. "Thanks, Fru."

…

The ceremony was taking place on a nice, _private_ , piece of land that had been generously offered by Mr. Big for the occasion. Both Nick and Judy had agreed that the less public, the better; it probably wasn't the best of ideas to have such a controversial gathering in the center of Zootopia. So they were here, with only a few friends and family to join them; Judy's parents, Mr. Big and Fru Fru (the body guards that accompanied them everywhere), Finnick, and of course Clawhauser.

Nick looked over them all, both with a sense of appreciation and apprehension. He'd gotten better about it in recent years since he met Judy, but he still occasionally felt the urge to hide from prying eyes and divert attention from himself; yet here he was, at the center of the spectacle in front of them. Quite the change of pace for a fox.

One of the bodyguards turned to look at the nearby building set aside for them, and nodded to Mr. Big and the rest of the guests. Nick knew what that meant, and so he swallowed hard and awaited his bride.

No music was present, but it might as well have been, because when he saw her a choir began to sing in both his mind and heart. She looked absolutely stunning as ever, and shyly walked forward while trying to keep her gaze from wandering to the sides of the makeshift aisle that had been prepared. Today she only had eyes for a very particular fox, and she was continually trying to hold herself back from giving into the excitement she was feeling that the moment had finally arrived.

Nick was content to just sit there and gaze at her all day, but all too soon she reached the stand he stood upon; as they were both smaller mammals, they'd propped up a small stage so the two could be seen by everyone. She held out a hand, and he moved to help her up. Now standing just inches from one another, amethyst eyes stared into emerald ones, and each could see the joy behind the other's.

They looked at a large polar bear to their side, acting as the priest for this wedding. He looked over at Judy expectantly, though saying nothing. She looked around awkwardly, unsure of what the bear was asking of her.

"The vows!" Fru Fru called from the chairs.

Her eyes widened, and she nodded quickly. "Oh, right, right! Umm …"

The bear held out a hand, and she saw that there were the two rings that each would give the other. She grabbed the proper one with shaking hands.

"So you're a ring _bear_ -er, huh?" Nick nervously quipped to the bear. Judy's eyes widened, but the bear simply smiled lightly at the joke.

She looked back at Nick, and her confidence returned to her. Taking a deep breath, she recited, "Nicholas Wilde, you are my best friend. I promise to laugh with you, cry with you, and grow with you." Slowly, she slid the ring onto his claw. "I will love you when we are together and when we are apart. I promise to support your dreams and to respect our differences, and to love you and be by your side through all the days and nights of our lives." She finished with a smile on her face, and with tears welling up in her eyes.

Even Nick seemed to be choking up for a moment as the bear turned to him as well, and gave him the remaining ring. After a moment, he gave his own vows. "I do pledge you, Judy Hopps, my love for as long as I live. What … little … I possess in this world, I give to you. I will keep you and hold you, comfort and tend you, protect you and shelter you, for all the days of my life." He too, gently slid the ring onto her waiting paw. "Throughout history, there have been many great men with accomplishments both good and far-reaching. Though I have long envied and admired them, I have come to realize that I would count myself as their equal, or even their better, if my only achievement in this life was to make you happy."

Judy's tears immediately overloaded and began to cascade down her cheeks as she was blown out of the water by his vows. The bear gave an approving hum before outstretching his hands; one over Judy, and one over Nick. With a loud clap that made them jump, he brought them together and clasped each hand tightly. And they both knew what that meant.

"KISS!" Clawhauser squealed from the chairs. Eager to oblige, Judy stretched herself up on the tips of her large feet to reach Nick's mouth, and kissed him passionately. He reciprocated, closing his eyes as he did so.

The watching crowd clapping heartily as the two enjoyed their first kiss as husband and wife. Bonnie Hopps gave Stu a few tissues as he openly wept, urging him quietly to 'hold it together'. Clawhauser's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates, overwhelmed with the cuteness in front of him. The rest of the bodyguards showed no emotion, and simply stood like statues, stoic and unmoving.

Neither Judy nor Nick noticed them; they were too preoccupied with the start of their new life together.

* * *

 _ **A/N: God. Damn. Yes, I am aware that this update is long overdue. Yes, I am aware that I'm not nearly as invested in this story as I am in others. YES, I'm even aware that this chapter is short.**_

 _ **But I still feel like you guys deserved it, and so here it is. But be aware; I'm gonna try and make the next chapter after this the LAST chapter, so … yeah. Hope you guys are happy with this!**_


	13. Thicker than Blood

"Well, everything appears to be in order."

The female hedgehog looked at the two of them with a knowing smirk. "Normally, this is the part where I'd ask the couple whether they're sure they want to proceed, but I can tell that you two want nothing more."

Judy nodded excitedly, her hands fiddling with one another in excitement before she placed them under her legs to keep from fidgeting. Nick simply chuckled after looking at his wife's behavior.

"Oh, you can certainly say that again."

She smiled at the couple warmly. "May I just say that … well, I can't think of any couple more deserving than the two of you after all you've done for this city, and I can't think of anyone better suited to be parents than the likes of you."

The bunny's mouth made a small 'o' out of shock to hear those words, but quickly recovered and beamed at the hedgehog. "I can't tell you enough how much it means to hear you say that to us."

"Believe me, I'm sure I do. I wouldn't have said it if it wasn't true."

After a comfortable silence between the three of them, they stood from their chairs and the hedgehog glance up at the two mammals standing above her. "In any matter, I think you've been waiting long enough for this. No need to prolong this any further!"

She began to waddle down the hall with Judy and Nick trailing close behind her. The fox and rabbit quietly intertwined their hands and squeezed tightly, both of their anticipation boiling over into their body language. After today, everything would change for them- and they were more than content to enter the next chapter of their lives together.

Finally reaching the end of the hallway, the hedgehog gestured towards the handle of the door to a room on the left with a grin. "Someone will be along shortly to see how things are going. Good luck!"

Waddling back down the hall towards the front of the building, she left the two of them alone as she recognized what a monumental moment this was for them. Giving each other one last look of eagerness, Nick reached forward and pulled open the door for them to step in.

Judy entered first, immediately locking her eyes on the only other occupant in the room. Nick came in after her, and he too found his gaze drawn to the purpose of their presence here today.

A small gray fox had been playing with some of the toys left in a chest on the far side of the room, but his ears had perked up as soon as he'd heard them enter. Turning around to face them, he dropped what he was messing with and sat there watching them intently.

While all the paperwork had been filled out and they'd been legally cleared for adoption, this was the first time they were meeting their new addition to the family. Assuming all went well, they'd be able to confirm with the agency that they wanted to move forward and bring him home within the week.

Judy wanted so badly for this to work out, but she was nervous about the child's reaction to them. He'd presumably been told about the … uniqueness … of his potential parents, but how he acted on that was to be seen. Would he feel uncomfortable in their presence? Would he be too shy to talk with them? Worries flooded her mind, but for the sake of the task at hand she shoved them down.

Walking over to where he stood and then kneeling down, she lowered herself to his level. He continued to look at her with an expression of curiosity, but no discomfort or apparent aversion yet.

She looked at what he'd been playing with; some kind of building blocks. She couldn't remember having owned any as a kid, but she'd known of them.

"That looks neat! What are you building?"

She hated how forced she thought she sounded, but apparently the kit didn't mind. He stared at her shyly for a moment before looking at his blocks and pointing at them. "They said that you're part of the police, so I … umm … so I made a police building for you!" He looked down for a moment before meeting her gaze once again with expectant eyes.

At hearing him explain what he was making, her heart completely melted and she felt a bit of wetness at the corners of her eyes. She hurriedly wiped them to keep the kit from seeing any tears in the event that he didn't know better and thought she was sad. Then she gave as warm and genuine a smile as she could to him.

"It looks amazing! I love it!"

At hearing the words, _I love it_ , his face lit up with joy. Apparently, she hadn't been the only one nervous about how the other would react.

Without warning, he moved forward and reached out to grab her leg in a tight hug. It took all of her restraint to not squeal with absolute delight, but she managed to settle for simply pulling him into an embrace and laughing. Nick came and joined in silently, as was his usual style of letting her do all the talking.

He pulled away and looked at them apprehensively. "Are you my mommy?"

She remembered what all the papers had said about the kit; no one knew who his parents were, he'd simply been found roaming the streets. At such a young age it was practically a death sentence, and so he'd been picked up by the foster care agency. As a fox, not a lot of people were looking to adopt him but he seemed perfect for a couple like her and Nick.

When he asked her the question, she noted that he didn't say 'new' mommy; he simply wanted to know if she was going to be his mother, period. Reveal time.

"Yes," she assured him, waiting to see how he'd respond. To her immense relief, he smiled with glee and went back to hugging her and Nick tightly. He didn't care about their odd nature; he simply wanted a family to call his own, and they were more than happy to be that.

"Welcome to the family, Grayson."

* * *

"… and the rest is history," finished Grayson with a grin and some suspicious moisture in the corners of his eyes as he reached his arms around his parents and squeezed them while they chuckled and jokingly tried to escape. With him being taller than both of them, Peter had a hard time imagining him so small as a kit- perhaps even smaller than Peter was now.

He watched as his brother finally relented and allowed his mother and father to leave his immediate proximity before putting his hands in the pockets of his coat. "So you see, there have definitely been some rough patches in this family's history, and there will always be more to come. But it's _our_ family, and I wouldn't trade it for the world."

His wording caused Peter to pause momentarily, and he spoke up with a rather meekness to his voice. "Harry said you can't have babies on your own … if you could, what would happen to-"

"Don't you entertain that thought for another minute," Judy ordered as she marched over to look her youngest son in the eyes and place her paw on his shoulder. "We can argue 'what-ifs' all day, or we can look at the wonderful life we already have. Just as Grayson said, we are a _family._ Blood has nothing to do with it- you are my son just as much as if I'd pushed you out myself."

"Mom!" groaned Lucy indignantly at her mother's blunt choice of words, and the bunny smirked at her daughter's embarrassment.

"It's true. Your father and I love you with all our hearts, and I would never entertain the thought of having anyone other than you three to call my kids. You _are_ my son, just as much as I hope you consider me your mother."

He thought about that for a moment and realized that he'd never once thought of her as anything but 'mom'. He'd never thought it was weird that he wasn't technically related to her- for all intents and purposes, she _was_ his mom.

And if that was the case, it made him much more sure that he was her son.

He opened his arms and threw them around her as she reciprocated in kind. Nick sauntered over and wrapped his arms around them both, nothing to add as everything that needed to be said had been said. Grayson and Lucy only waited a moment longer before joining in as the five of them cemented and felt the bond that truly tied them all together as a family.

Eventually, they pulled apart, and Nick pulled out his phone to look at something. His eyebrows raised, and he turned to look at Judy. "You know … there's a few movies playing around this of night still, and we didn't really get to supper. What say we all go out and grab dinner and a show?"

She nodded, a smile quickly spreading across her features. "I think dinner and a show sounds great right about now. Kids, how about it? You up for that?"

To the chorus of happy agreements all around, they hopped in the car and drove off to enjoy a night free from worry.

The earlier events from today already becoming a faint memory in Peter's mind, all he could think about during the ride was how lucky he was to have such an amazing family to call his own. Sure, it may be odd and different, and perhaps some could even call it weird … but what was so bad about that?

He was proud of his parents; for enduring what they did, for letting their love for each other beat back every problem that tried to come between them- and for sharing that love in the form of adopting Grayson, Lucy, and himself.

From this point on, he wasn't worried about what others would say. He wasn't afraid of what hardships may come. His parent's story had taught him one lesson that he would carry for the rest of his life, and in later years he would share it in an effort to fulfill the mission that he'd undertaken as his own, passed down from his parents to him.

He was going to try and make the world a better place.

 **THE END**

* * *

 _ **A/N: Just about any insult you want to use for the delay in this update would be justified, and I won't try to fight it if you've got some choice words for me being so late on this. My only defense is that at LEAST I still updated before PyreFerret did …**_

 _ **But in any case, the story is finally finished. I hope that I ended it on as sweet a note as you were expecting me to, and that you're all satisfied with where this story went. I'm kind of appalled that I took a year and a half to finish it, but it IS finished.**_

 _ **To any of you who stuck around this long waiting for a conclusion, you deserve a medal for your patience; and I thank you for sticking around long after what would have been expected.**_

 _ **I know I lost motivation to write this story after a certain point, but I would lie if I said I didn't have a good time writing it anyway. It's been fun, and I hope you guys enjoyed the ride as much as I did.**_

 _ **\- Matteoarts**_


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